Broken, Beaten, and Damned
by Aina Song
Summary: Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.
1. To Return Home

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter One - To Return Home**

He first became aware as his spine arched, and his lungs burned. Hands helped him to roll to his side, and he promptly hacked and coughed until something wet and salty finally escaped him and he could breathe again.

"Hey. You okay, brudda?"

Still coughing, he rolled the rest of the way over and pushed up to his hands and knees. The ground felt unusually soft and giving, and he opened his eyes to find that he was kneeling on sand. His gaze swam a little as he lifted his head, forcing him to focus his senses so that he could see the small beach surrounding him. The salt he still tasted in his mouth must have been seawater.

Glimpsing movement from the corner of his eye, he turned his head in time to watch a strangely dressed muscleman with red hair squat down next to him. "Brudda. You okay?"

He swallowed a great breath, his voice rough and scratchy as he demanded, "Who are you? Where the hell am I?"

"Lemme help you up." The guy offered a hand.

Eyes narrowing, he took it and let himself be pulled to his feet. The sudden change in momentum caused his vision to blur again for a second, and he shook his head to clear it. The redhead offered him a water bottle as well, and he did not hesitate to rinse the remaining salt from his mouth.

"Name's Wakka," the redhead introduced himself. He motioned his hand toward the jungle which lay in wait behind them. "This here's Besaid Island. Don't ask how you got here; I honestly couldn't tell you."

He gave the redhead - Wakka - back the water bottle, reflexively sizing the guy up before at last replying, "Yusuke."

"Well, come on," Wakka grinned. "We'll take you to the village temple and see if the priest can't do something about you." He started up a hill toward the jungle, motioning for Yusuke to follow.

The dark youth lingered a moment, flexing his senses. But Wakka's energy felt harmless, and that jungle felt pitifully tame when compared to himself. Still, he checked that his own energy was not MIA before tailing after the redhead. He nearly stumbled as he took his first step, a warning from his body that it had been comatose for far longer than he'd realized. As he regained his footing he finally got a look at himself.

"Ah, hell…"

"Something wrong?'

Yusuke fisted what was left of his favorite shirt, a fine black tunic that had been gifted to him by one of the lesser nobles of the demon realm, now reduced to shreds and exposing most of his torso. It was a wonder that it still clung to him at all. He tore it off and tossed it aside, glancing down at his slacks which seemed to have suffered less damage. He surprised himself to find that he was in partial demon form - his markings were visible, and his claws and fangs were out, but his hair had only grown out over his eyes and was just long enough to spill its ends toward the nape of his neck. The one thing that had stayed the same was that he was still barefoot. (He had long discovered that he preferred to feel the ground beneath his feet.)

They exited the jungle, with Wakka commenting that they had not encountered what he called _fiends_. Yusuke said nothing; he suspected that the inhabitants of the jungle had sensed his presence as easily as he had sensed them and were keeping their distance.

"I dunno where you came from," Wakka was saying now as they continued to follow the trail. "But you look a little confused, so I'd better drill you on a few things."

Yusuke gave him a questioning look.

The redhead rubbed the back of his neck, "I-it's just that there are some things that'll earn you some awkward looks if you were to forget them. Not to mention that you never so much as flinched as we passed through that jungle, and the fiends in there aren't exactly fuzzy little playthings."

"I can handle myself."

"Seriously," Wakka insisted, pausing in his tracks and turning to him. "How much do you remember?"

Yusuke took the question literally for a minute. But, try as he might, he could not recall anything directly before coming to on the beach. How had he gotten there? And this world… Somehow, he suspected it was a reality separate from either of his own.

"Fine," he groused at last. "Let's pretend I don't know anything. What can you teach me?"

"Where to begin," Wakka sighed, shaking his head. "Well… since we're only introducing you to the temple's priest, for now we'll just cover the basics."

~o~

Besaid Village was small and modest, a number of tented domes to either side of a single road leading to a stone building that could only have been the temple Wakka kept mentioning. Just as they approached, however, a bald middle-aged man in robes came rushing out, looking extremely panicked.

"Wakka, thank Yevon," he panted. "They haven't come out yet…"

"What," the redhead exclaimed, his easy manner suddenly gone. "Did something happen?"

The priest simply stood there, wringing his hands with obvious worry. Yusuke looked from one to the other. In the midst of Wakka's drill on the "basics," there had been a brief explanation about _summoners_. Yusuke didn't understand it all, but he had caught on enough to gather that they were important, like royalty. More than that, Wakka had made them sound almost sacred.

Watching the concerned indecision that passed between the other two men, Yusuke swore under his breath and made a decision of his own. He pushed past them and raced into the temple. He paused inside its prayer hall, the tall statues briefly taking him by surprise, but then he raced up the stairs and shoved his way in.

The potency of the energy in the room he entered nearly stole the very breath from his lungs, and it only grew thicker, the farther he went. He passed through opened doors, taking note of shifted wall fragments and an opened wooden chest in a corner that looked to have survived a small explosion. Coming to a dead end, he found a large circle on the floor, which he suspected to have an important purpose.

"Hey!"

Yusuke turned. Wakka had followed him in, his expression a mix between relief and anxiety. He stepped onto the circle, tugging at Yusuke's arm so that the dark youth would follow his example. "Don't worry," he said, as the circle suddenly shook and sank below the floor, taking them with it. "No one else is coming for you. They wouldn't dare; no one but summoners, summoner apprentices, and their guardians are allowed beyond this point."

Yusuke gave him a look. "What does that make you?"

"Guardian," the redhead grinned. But then he looked uneasy again, scratching at the back of his head. "There're two guardians down there already, so I didn't really think I'd be needed this time around. One's got a short fuse on her, and the other… Well, who knows what _that_ one's thinking." Dropping his hand, he sighed and met Yusuke's gaze. "Yevon will know you're not a guardian. We're risking excommunication."

The tattooed demon frowned, "You lost me."

"It's blasphemy for any to enter into an aeon's chambers before being deemed worthy," the redhead solemnly explained. "You're not a guardian, you're not an apprentice training to become a summoner, and you're not an ordained summoner in the midst of his pilgrimage." Wakka sighed again; "You're trespassing. And we've a couple apprentices down here who might have to suffer for it."

The lift finally stopped, and a circular wall shifted out of the way. Yusuke gritted his teeth; _this_ room breathed energy even more potent than those aboveground. And, spying an odd door atop a small handful of stairs, he was willing to bet that the energy behind it would be strongest of all.

"What are you doing here?" Demanded a female voice, "Didn't you think we could handle it?"

Yusuke turned his head, finding a dark-haired woman wearing a black dress that gave the illusion of being completely comprised of leather belts. She wore three beaded necklaces, her nails and lips were painted over with a dark shade of violet, and her eyes were the gleaming tint of red wine.

She saw him too, in almost the same instant, and her eyes widened with alarm. "Who are you? You shouldn't be here!"

As Wakka swiftly crossed to her to explain, Yusuke swung his gaze around and discovered what could only have been the other guardian. But this one was not human. Nearly enormous in size, the creature was a blue feline with a mane of white hair and a broken horn sticking out from the center of his brow. The creature returned his look for a moment, cat-like yellow eyes narrowing in silent scrutiny, before he turned his head and appeared to ignore Yusuke entirely.

A soft grinding sound broke the tense quiet, and all turned toward the small staircase as the odd door lifted up behind its archway. Light flooded into the room, broken by a large silhouette which itself split apart to reveal two forms.

Yusuke stared.

The first was a very young woman. Her skin was ivory pale, her soft brown hair fell just to her shoulders, and even from where he stood Yusuke could see that her eyes were mismatched - one blue, one green. She wore a dress that closely resembled a feminine kimono. Its top was white, its skirt a dark purple and emblazoned with silvery white vines that sprouted delicate pink-white ivy leaves. It was tied at the waist by a wide yellow sash. From around her neck hung a fine silver chain which dangled three precious baubles, and she wore two silver rings on the fingers of her right hand.

The other was a man, equally as young as the woman. Bronze-skinned with short feathery blond hair, he wore loose black slacks and a small yellow vest which covered only the upper half of his torso and had been left hanging open. Dangling from his waist was a loose white belt and two thick silver chains. His right shoulder was branded upon in bold black ink with a jagged, twisted shape**(1)**, the same odd symbol which also appeared as a small silver earring in his left lobe. A strip of black leather clung around the base of his throat, thick silver armbands embraced his biceps, and he wore black leather gloves.

Both were glistening with perspiration, and both appeared exhausted.

The girl suddenly stumbled, her boot slipping from a stair, and the blond youth stumbled too while attempting to catch her. Wakka and the dark female were frozen with alarm, but the blue beast raced up the stairs. With ease he caught the girl, gently steadying her - yet he was not the only one to have reacted.

Yusuke stood, helping the human in his arms to regain his feet as well. The blond looked up, and Yusuke's demon core tightened within the center of his chest. The boy's eyes were startlingly, piercingly blue.

The color of a flame's heart.

For a handful of seconds, the boy was staring at him too. Yusuke could understand why; he was an unknown, and in his current form he probably looked more feral than human. But then it was over, and the blond turned vastly worried eyes upon the girl.

"I'm all right," she murmured as though the blond had spoken aloud, her grace evident as she accepted the feline's help to stand again. She turned, and her breath caught in a tiny gasp.

"I don't know," the blond answered, stepping out of the arms that had caught him to return to her side.

"He calls himself, 'Yusuke'," Wakka volunteered, approaching the four of them with the dark woman in tow. "I pulled him outta the deep blue, but he doesn't seem to remember how he got there."

"The _sea_?" The blond youth echoed, alarm flickering across his flame blue eyes. Beside him, the brunette had lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle another gasp.

Yusuke looked from one to the other. "Did I miss something?"

The two exchanged a glance, and the brunette whispered, "Sin…"

"What?"

"You must've encountered Sin," the blond clarified. "And the loss of your memories could be explained away… if you'd breathed in Sin's toxins."

Wakka and the dark woman exclaimed in sudden understanding, and even the blue feline seemed to find the news disturbing. Yusuke's eyes narrowed as he tried to take in their theory. It wasn't as though he'd been able to come up with anything better, really. But he shook his head, arguing, "I don't think that's it. I remember my life before… whatever happened. And I think I would've remembered things like Sin and summoners."

The blond and the brunette said nothing more, though their eyes were filled with sympathy.

~o~

Yusuke followed the group out of the temple, where they were greeted by what appeared to be every member of the village. It was more than obvious that the two apprentices were adored by all and that their prolonged "trial," as Wakka had put it, had worried the other villagers to great extent.

The small crowd formed a ring around the village square as though expecting something, and Wakka led Yusuke within the inner circle of the gathering. "Watch this," the redhead grinned, excitement and pride in his light amber eyes.

Standing in the center of the square were the two apprentices. They stood close together, facing one another and whispering in low voices. In the brunette's hand was a small wooden staff, painted blue with a swirling ribbon of silver, and topped with a dark green symbol that resembled a faerie's eye; the blond fisted a shortsword of corroded black steel, its jagged blade finely edged with gleaming silver.**(2)**

The blond suddenly dropped his forehead to the brunette's shoulder. The girl's lips tugged in a soft smile, and she cupped her free hand to the back of his head. A long moment passed before the blond lifted his head again. The brunette whispered something, and he nodded.

The two clasped their free hands together, each taking a step back and flinging their weapon arms wide. A giant ring of runes lit up the ground at their feet, slowly spinning as beams of light shot up toward the skies. White clouds parted overhead, and sunlight poured over the square. All eyes lifted as a piercing _Scree!_ broke the expectant silence. Yusuke stared as a giant bird, as big as his own spirit beast, came down out of the skies, rolling as birds did before flinging its wings wide to catch itself on the breeze. It landed in the square, its talons clawing at the ground, its feathers colored brightly in red and white.

The brunette released the blond's hand and came boldly forth, only hesitating a moment before reaching up to stroke the bird's feather-crowned head. The bird allowed the girl's daring, even emitting a soft croon in appreciation. When she had done, the bird lifted its head, its luminescent yellow eyes searching for and finding its other summoner. The blond dipped his head once in respectful greeting; the bird clicked its beak and tilted its head high, giving a shake of its feathers.

Then the bird spread its large wings and took flight, and Yusuke marveled as he watched it disappear before it even reached the clouds. Wakka and the woman in leather rushed into the square, showing obvious pride in the two new summoners, and the rest of the villagers were not far behind.

Yusuke lingered where he stood, wondering at what he had just witnessed.

~o~

That night, the villagers lit a bonfire to celebrate their successfully ordained summoners.

Wakka was talking with a number of men, who all dressed in much the same way he was. Yusuke, overhearing something about a game and a tournament, realized they were a team for some sport called blitzball. The temple priest was standing somewhat close to the bonfire, talking with the dark woman and the blue feline, who had finally been introduced to Yusuke as Lulu and Kimahri.

Yusuke glanced around, knowing himself to be the fifth wheel. He wandered idly about, watching the flames of the bonfire without any true interest, but then he paused as he glimpsed a familiar silhouette. Stepping away from the bonfire, he approached the shadows its blazing light could not reach and followed a short path in between two tents, entering a bald patch in some tall grass.

The brunette looked up, quiet welcome in her smile as she realized who had found her. But she was not sitting alone. Her blond companion lay to her side, his head on her lap, his eyes closed as though in slumber.

"He's very exhausted," she whispered, much fondness in her mismatched eyes as she lightly ran her fingers through the other's blond strands. She looked up again, "I'm sorry; we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Yuna." With a slight nod to the blond in her lap, she added, "This is Tidus, my twin brother."

"Yusuke," he answered, folding his legs and sitting down with them.

_Twins_, he mused to himself, letting his eyes take in the sight of the two of them together. For twins, they didn't look too much alike… Though, it did explain the obvious closeness the two shared, which poured out of them like a joined aura.

"It's such a shame that you can't remember how you ended up on our shores," Yuna softly lamented. Then she paused, adding, "Though probably a blessing as well, that you remember nothing of your encounter with Sin."

"I told you," he sighed. "Whatever Sin is, it's got nothing to do with me."

"But, how else can you explain-?"

"I can't."

She grew quiet again for a long moment, before giving him a look of some patience. "What you said in the temple… You don't believe this is your world, do you?"

Yusuke stared at how calmly she had said that, and how accurate her guess had been. In the spirit of honesty, he said, "No, it's not. I don't belong here; I don't know how I got here, and I have no clue how to get back."

"Tell us about your world," Tidus' voice quietly broke in.

Yusuke quickly looked down to find the blond's flame blue eyes steadily watching him, revealing that Tidus had been awake and heard everything. Something about the look in those eyes hinted that Tidus, at least, was willing to hear him out.

"I live in the makai," Yusuke told them. "It's a world filled almost to the brim with demons. Some are weak, low-class; some prefer to keep to themselves unless they feel threatened. But most of them are strong, dangerous predators with some bloodlust."

Yuna gasped aloud.

"The thought foremost on every demon's mind," he explained, shrugging, "is _survival_. Some just translate that thought differently than others."

The two were quiet as they absorbed his words. Then Tidus rolled his head, looking up so he could meet his sister's gaze. Yuna must have read something in the blond's eyes, for she gave yet another soft smile and nodded. Tidus looked again to Yusuke; "We want to invite you to join us on our pilgrimage."

Yusuke blinked. "Pilgrimage?"

"Every summoner embarks on a pilgrimage," Yuna explained, "journeying throughout the whole of Spira. We pray at every temple along the way, asking the Fayth for their blessing. If given, we acquire one more aeon to guide and defend us."

"The point is to receive the Final Aeon," Tidus put in. "The Final Aeon allows us to defeat Sin."

"_Every_ summoner goes through this?" Yusuke asked. When both solemnly nodded, he quietly demanded, "Why don't I believe it's as easy as it sounds?"

"Because it's not," Tidus replied. "Every pilgrimage is a trial in and of itself, to test the summoner's worthiness. Failure is very possible. Some don't even survive the journey, one reason guardians are so necessary. And even if a summoner completes his journey, there's no guarantee that the Final Aeon will judge him worthy."

Yuna nodded, "And then the Final Summoning. The defeat of Sin. But Sin is an entity created by Yevon to purge us of our ancestors' transgressions. In only ten short years, Sin is reborn. And more summoners must attempt the journey."

"Ten years?" Yusuke echoed. "That's it?"

"Don't think it isn't worth it," Tidus quickly hissed. And the distant glow of the villagers' bonfire reflected blazing within those flame blue eyes. "For those ten years, the people are able to sleep in their beds without fear. Smiles are stronger. Hope is real. We call it the Calm, because for those ten years, all of Spira feels at peace. And that kind of time is worth anything."

After hearing it put like that, Yusuke suddenly felt insignificant. He had seen and done many things, shouldered much responsibility. And he had often used to wonder what had been the point, why he couldn't simply turn his back on it all, why he should carry on with such a duty when only a handful of others could know of it and appreciate him for it.

He understood now why Wakka had called summoners _sacred_. The whole of their world knew what they strived to accomplish. To shoulder the weight of such expectation, every step of their journey… To look upon the faces of the people and know the faith each one placed in them to succeed, even while the chances were stacked so unfairly against them…

Yusuke stared at the two summoners before him, so new to the title. And he had to wonder. "Why do you want me to come with you? I could be one of those bloodthirsty predators I told you about."

Brother and sister exchanged another smile, and Tidus answered, "While training to become summoners, we were taught to hone our spiritual senses. When we first met you in the temple, we could sense something powerful and wild about you. Your claim not to be human comes as no great surprise to us."

"At first we believed you to be one of the Fayth," Yuna added. "But your form is too real, too… solid. The Fayth are spirits, the souls of those who gave their lives so that summoners could gain more power against Sin."

"You caught me when I fell," Tidus murmured, suddenly seeming unable to meet Yusuke's gaze. "You held me. That is something a spirit without a body cannot do." After a moment, he looked up again. "We next thought you might be a broken aeon…"

"Broken…?"

"There is a mention of them in the teachings," Yuna enlightened him. "Very brief, and very sad. Few understand what it means, but it says that an aeon that breaks from its temple is a lost soul. Its fate is much the same as a soul that has succumbed to the grief of its body's failure and become a fiend."

"Death," Tidus translated. Drawing in a slow breath, he went on. "Now we know that what we sensed in you is that you're a demon. Despite what you say of your own kind, or of yourself, we feel we can trust you."

"And who knows," Yuna smiled. "Perhaps while on our pilgrimage, you might find the way to return home."

1) I don't really know what that thing is called that he wears in the game. I'm not even going to bother.

2) Yuna's staff is the Laevatein, and Tidus' sword is reminiscent of the Basilisk Steel.


	2. Shores of Kilika

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Two - Shores of Kilika**

Yusuke returned to the bonfire to find Wakka looking for him. When the redhead saw which direction Yusuke came from, his eyes narrowed. Yusuke remembered that the redhead was one of the summoners' guardians, and he suddenly felt he could guess what was coming next.

"Don't worry, ya?" Wakka sighed, shaking his head. "I know you didn't try anything, so I'm not going to give you the third degree. Yuna's always been cute as a button, anyway; I don't blame you for noticing."

The tattooed demon rolled his eyes, cutting the lecture short before it could begin. "Hate to have to tell you this, big guy, but she's not my type."

"She's not, eh?"

"Not even close," he emphasized. "I'm not sayin' she won't turn a few heads. Physically, she's a ten. And even I can tell she's hiding some spark behind that smile. But you don't have to worry about anything from me." He turned a bit to glance over his shoulder toward the clearing in the shadows. "Besides, even an idiot can see that any guy thinking to go after her would have to get by that brother of hers first. They're inseparable, aren't they?"

The redhead gave another sigh, nodding. "Been that way since they were kids. Can't remember a day when they haven't been there for each other. Listen," he said, and Yusuke knew it was an obvious attempt to change the subject. "There's a lodge near the temple. They're offering to let you use one of their beds, so whenever you're tired…"

Yusuke shrugged. "I'm not, but it would probably be smart to rest while I can. I mean, it's not every day a man nearly drowns and then wakes up on the shore without any memory of how he got there."

~o~

Late the next morning, as Wakka and the others prepared to leave, Tidus motioned for Yusuke to follow him into one of the tents. "I don't mean to insult you," the blond spoke once they were alone. "But the pilgrimage will be a long one, and there are places in Spira where travel will be difficult."

"I'll manage."

"I don't doubt that," Tidus assured, "but I was talking about your clothes."

Yusuke glanced down at himself, unable to argue. "It's not like I have anything else, so I guess I'm screwed."

Tidus motioned toward a trunk tucked into a corner of the tent. "You're welcome to anything you can find. You need it more than I do, and I'll be leaving it all behind anyway." He then gave a low bow and left the tent.

Yusuke stood frozen for a long minute, but then stepped over to the trunk.

When he finally emerged, he found the small entourage he would be traveling with staring at his chosen attire. He now wore black slacks of a stronger material than his own had been, and a thick fishnet tee which clung to him like a second skin. Over the shirt he wore a sleeveless tunic, charcoal grey lined with shining black, and tied together with a black sash around his waist.

Wakka was the first to seem to recover, loudly clearing his throat. "Looks like all you need now is a weapon…"

Yuna giggled, and beside her Tidus gave an answering smile.

Yusuke's smirk grew very fanged indeed. "I _am_ a weapon."

~o~

Having followed their small group halfway along the path that led into the jungle, Yusuke suddenly felt that he was being watched. He discreetly slowed to a stop, allowing the others to continue on ahead of him, and then glanced around. He was standing between two pillars of some ruins; the path led alongside a cliff, and Yusuke glanced up in time to watch a large shadow leaping down toward him. He swiftly leapt back, eyes widening as he discovered that it was the blue feline Kimahri. The creature clawed at the ground, slamming one fist into the dirt before straightening up and bellowing out a lion-like roar. In his other fist was a long spear.

Yusuke knew a challenge when he received one. He crouched low, slowly releasing a bit of his energy.

Kimahri brought his other hand to his spear in a two-fisted grip, wasting no time in an attack. Yusuke swore under his breath as he leapt out of range. Pouncing to his right, the dark youth rebounded against a pillar to change course, striking the back of Kimahri's shoulder. The giant feline retaliated with surprising speed, whirling about and jabbing his spear in another attack.

Yusuke found himself dodging over and over again, eventually feeding enough speed into his movements that had any human been watching he would have seemed a blur. Kimahri proved every bit as resilient as he appeared. Clever, too. Yusuke counted himself lucky that he had not yet been skewered, and that he had managed to land a few more strikes of his own.

Toward the end, Kimahri came closer than ever to making contact with that spear of his. Yusuke nearly stumbled as he leapt out of the way, twisting his body in midair so that he landed on all fours. His eyes narrowed, and he was finally breathing heavily enough that a low growl escaped with every breath. Kimahri's cat-yellow eyes widened as he heard it, and the blue beast readied his spear for yet another attack.

"That's enough!" Wakka's voice interrupted. He and Lulu had apparently doubled back upon finding Yusuke missing, and Tidus and Yuna were not far behind them.

Yusuke kept his eyes on Kimahri, refusing to straighten out of his crouch until the other released his offensive stance. Kimahri seemed to study him for a long minute before turning away.

He passed the others by, but paused at Tidus' side. Leaning down, he whispered into the blond's ear. Tidus' flame blue eyes widened, "Really?" Kimahri whispered something more, something that brought a low chuckle from the young summoner. "Thank you, Kimahri."

The blue beast straightened once more, continuing ahead of their group without so much as a backward glance.

Yuna gave her twin a curious look, to which Tidus chuckled again. "It seems Yusuke fights with the speed and savageness of a fiend. Kimahri acknowledges him, and approves."

Yusuke stared at Kimahri's retreating back, speechless.

~o~

The boat on which they left the island carried more than their small entourage. There were others, from another island called Kilika, which Wakka explained would be their first destination. These others from Kilika seemed very much in awe of the two newly ordained summoners. They had cornered Tidus and Yuna almost immediately, crowding around the two, staring and asking questions as though they had discovered a new addition to a museum.

And yet Yuna and her brother accepted their fascination with kind smiles, patiently replying to the crowd's curiosity as best they could, only sometimes shaking their heads to indicate something they did not have the answer to.

Yusuke stood back, leaning against one of the boat's masts, his arms crossed over his chest as he observed the commotion. Four hours into the voyage, and they were still at it. His sharp ears had overheard some of the things those others were saying, and he had caught repeated mention of two names spoken with enough reverence to convince him they were more than significant.

Without turning his eyes away from the small crowd, he slightly turned his head to his left. "Hey. Wakka. Who are Jecht and Braska?"

The redhead stammered with great surprise. After a moment, he commented, "Sin's toxin must've hit you worse than we thought…"

Yusuke said nothing to that, waiting.

"High Summoner Braska was the father of our own two summoners," Lulu spoke, coming to stand with them. "He was the last to defeat Sin and to bring the Calm. Sir Jecht was their uncle, and one of Braska's guardians."

"Tidus and Yuna are heirs to a great legacy," Wakka proudly added.

_A famous father_, Yusuke mentally cursed the coincidence. "Bet they can't wait to step out from under _that_ shadow…"

Wakka stared, obviously not getting it. But in Lulu's wine-red eyes shone both understanding and agreement. Biting off another profanity under his breath, Yusuke wordlessly excused himself and approached their summoners just as the small crowd finally broke apart.

Yuna and Tidus were standing near one of the boat's harpoons, watching the waters break below. They stood close together, Yuna embracing one of Tidus' arms, her head on his shoulder. For a moment, Yusuke suspected he might be intruding. But they looked up as he neared, and there was nothing but welcome in their smiles.

"How are you adjusting?" Yuna politely wondered.

Yusuke smirked, shrugging.

"Besaid's jungles were unusually emptied of fiends today," Tidus commented. "Was that your doing?"

"Might've been," he admitted, turning to lean the small of his back against the ropes. "Any wild animal will avoid an area if they sense something dangerous coming along."

They both smiled.

That was when the boat shook. It more than shook; it rocked. And beneath Yusuke's feet the deck vibrated as though something had slammed into the boat from the side. Yusuke dropped instinctively on all fours, maintaining his balance.

Tidus and Yuna were not so lucky. The blond had grabbed the rope railing and therefore had only slipped a little, but the brunette had lost her footing completely. Tidus was quick enough to catch his sister's fingers in his free hand, but it was obvious he would not be able to hold her for long. Yusuke leapt over their heads and landed on his feet to the other side of them, catching them both before they could fall over the side of the deck. Then Kimahri was there as well, helping him to bring the two summoners to their feet again.

And then one of the crewmates shouted in alarm the cause for the boat's sudden imbalance.

"_Sin!_"

Another crewmate quickly grabbed the nearest harpoon, preparing to fire.

"What do you think you're doing," Wakka demanded as he and Lulu raced onto their part of the deck. "Stick it with that thing, and we'll all get dragged under!"

"It's heading for Kilika," the first crewmate announced, grabbing the other harpoon. "We have to distract it."

"Our families are in Kilika," the second crewmate pleaded. "Forgive us, Lord and Lady Summoners!"

The two did not seem to need to think about it. Very solemnly, Yuna and her brother both nodded permission.

So the harpoons were fired, and everyone onboard watched the lines dart across the water's surface toward what appeared to be a gigantic grey fin. One could not breach the distance, but the other successfully plunged into the fin's thick skin. Its line grew taut, and the boat jerked again with the fin's powerful momentum.

Hearing someone scream in new alarm, Yusuke looked up in time to watch a few dozen black scale-looking things fly toward the boat. Relinquishing Tidus and Yuna into Kimahri's protection, he planted his feet firmly and gathered his energy. Thrusting his fist forth, he let loose a barrage of energy bullets, each one hitting its mark and knocking the things back into the water.

"How'd you do that?" Wakka wondered, his voice pitched loud over the crashing of the ocean's surface as it broke against their boat.

"No time!" Lulu shouted in warning. She pointed to Sin's fin, which was weaving this way and that, jerking the boat along with it, an obvious attempt to snap the harpoon's rope and free itself. "We have to get it to change course and then cut it loose!"

The redhead nodded, a determined light in his eyes. "You work the rope, Lu. I'll badger it away from the island."

"But the spawn!" Yuna shouted, pointing as more of those scales approached.

"I got 'em," Yusuke called dibs, readying his fist with more energy. "Kimahri, move Tidus and Yuna out of the way!"

He did not know whether the blue feline liked the idea of standing on the sidelines, but Yusuke couldn't spare the time to apologize. He fired another spray of energy bullets, driving back those things while Lulu muttered something in a language he couldn't begin to guess at. A tiny spark of flames ignited the rope, but the crashing waves doused it immediately.

"Keep trying!" Wakka urged, hefting a big plastic ball and taking aim. Yusuke was ready to argue the sense in the redhead's choice of weapon, until he watched it fly across the distance and slam against Sin's fin with enough force to let loose a resounding echo upon contact. Apparently, Wakka had just enough control over his own energy to feed it into the ball and harden it into a strong projectile.**(3)**

The crashing waves were rendering Lulu's fire magic useless, however. She was chanting nonstop, her brow creasing with concentration, but it seemed no matter how much strength she fed into her efforts she could not forge a flame to withstand the ocean's might.

"Tidus, _no!_"

Yusuke, having just driven back another wave of flying scales, whirled at the sound of Yuna's distressed plea, and he cussed under his breath as he watched her twin break free of Kimahri's hold. Tidus raced forth, his jagged black sword materializing in his fist as he ran, and with a shout the blond leapt at the harpoon's projector and cut the line loose. It was then that the boat gave one last jerk as it was freed from Sin's momentum, and Tidus stumbled as he landed, rolling over the edge of the deck and into the waters below. Yusuke swore again, and before anybody else could react he blurred forth and dove into the waters himself.

He broke surface a moment later, glanced around to confirm that Tidus hadn't come up yet, then dove again to find him. It was not long before he discovered a small school of piranha fighting over something large enough to have provided a feast for all of them, but as Yusuke drew near, they sensed his power and scattered. And there was Tidus, floating on his back, his limp form slowly drifting upward.

But the surface was too far away, and Yusuke doubted the blond had enough air in his lungs to last much longer. Before he could do anything about it, however, something else seemed to have smelled Tidus' blood mixing with the water. This one was large, resembling a jellyfish with an armored head, and it seemed its hunger overrode any fear it might have had of Yusuke.

Mentally swearing, the dark youth swam forth and caught Tidus' limp form in his arms. The jellyfish issued a high-pitched squeal in protest, obviously thinking Yusuke was stealing its next meal. Yusuke quickly pulled Tidus against him, and with a burst of energy he launched them both toward the surface. They broke through with such speed and lift that they flew into the air. Yusuke skillfully maneuvered his body as they came down again, and he landed firmly on the boat's deck with Tidus cradled in his arms.

Yuna raced forth with a small cry; Yusuke carefully set Tidus down and moved out of the way. Yuna fell to her knees at her brother's side, her hands searching for and finding where the piranhas had bitten into his flesh before Yusuke had been able to intervene.

Yusuke expected many things. He expected tears, loud wailing, sobbing in despair. Cussing, even, or a finger pointed at him in blame.

Tidus' twin took him by great surprise. She did have tears in her mismatched eyes, but she let them fall in silence, all of her attention on her brother. She seemed to be concentrating. And then Yusuke was staring, unable to believe his eyes as he watched Tidus' cuts and bite marks seal themselves and vanish within the span of seconds.

Even Genkai's spirit orb could not work _that_ fast…

Tidus suddenly dragged in a gasping breath, and Wakka and Lulu murmured in relief. Yuna shifted on her knees, tenderly lifting her brother's head upon her lap. The blond's fiery blue eyes slowly blinked open, and Tidus offered his sister a small smile.

It was short-lived relief, however. Something they did not discover until their boat finally approached the shores of Kilika.

3) Sniper's ability. *guilty smirk* I'm _so_ getting sued for that one…


	3. The Jungle

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Three - The Jungle**

Though Sin had been successfully distracted, they had been unable to account for its sheer size. In altering its own course, Sin had sent a crashing tidal wave at Kilika Island, flooding its shores and destroying its homes. The damage was devastating, and grievous, and had taken with it many unfortunate lives.

When their boat came to dock, Wakka and his blitzball team rushed into town to see how they might help with reparations. Kimahri and then Lulu came off the boat next, with Yuna following after. Tidus, weakened after his misadventure, leaned upon Yusuke for support as they both stepped onto the dock.

An elderly man and woman approached their entourage, and Yuna bowed low in solemn greeting. "We are deeply sorry for your loss. Please, allow my brother and myself to perform the Sending."

"Thank Yevon," the man praised. And beside him, the woman added, "We feared our loved ones would become fiends."

"Take us to them," Yuna softly requested.

Yusuke wordlessly slung Tidus' arm across his shoulders, shifting so that he took most of the blond's weight as they walked. When Tidus slipped him an apologetic glance, Yusuke gave a small smirk to show that he didn't mind.

The Kilika elders led their group along the boarded walk, to a gathering of the village's survivors near the flooded remains of what might once have been a freshwater pool. Yusuke's dark eyes zeroed in on the many swaddled bodies that had been laid out in a mass underwater grave, and his chest tightened guiltily. He was a demon, yes… and he knew he was not directly at fault… But he had been a human first; it would've been impossible for him to feel nothing at all.

Tidus slowly pulled away from Yusuke's support, heaving a great breath before standing strongly on his own two feet. Carefully, he stepped to his sister's side. Though she seemed to immensely share in the Kilika villagers' grief, Yuna gave her twin a small smile, lightly threading her fingers through his blond strands. Tidus seemed to take strength from the gesture, catching her hand in his palm and squeezing for a moment before letting go.

Yusuke joined Lulu, who had lingered in the background. "Call me stupid if you want," he muttered, low enough so that only she would hear. "But I'm just gonna go ahead and ask. What's this 'Sending' thing they're talkin' about?"

The garnet-eyed witch - mage, whatever - gave him a cursory glance before returning her gaze to their summoners. "I won't insult your intelligence until I have a better idea of how it operates," she replied coolly.

"Meaning?"

"Simply that the popular theory about you seems to be that Sin's toxin is affecting you. I'll give it time to clear from your head, and then decide whether you're just being 'stupid'."

Yusuke shrugged, accepting her straightforwardness. "So…?"

"The dead need guidance," she explained, shocking him speechless. "Filled with grief over their own deaths, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see… they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger… even hate. Should those souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living." She paused, finally taking note of Yusuke's suddenly withdrawn expression. "Sad, isn't it."

The dark youth nodded, not willing to admit how close to home her words had cut him.

"The Sending takes them into the Farplane," she told him, "where they may rest in peace."

It was very easy to grasp the seriousness of the ordeal, how very necessary it must have been for the grieving process, at the least. It was more than a simple funeral. It was assurance that the departed were guided into the next world. And that in itself brought peace of mind to those left behind.

Yusuke returned his attention to the scene before them.

Yuna fisted the air, and her staff materialized in her hand. She stepped delicately forth, her bared feet touching the surface of the water as though walking on solid ground. Pausing, she turned back, offering her free hand. With only the barest hesitation, Tidus grasped her fingers in his own and joined her, his black blade forging itself in his other fist. They came to a stop in the midst of the watery grave, and Tidus released his sister's hand.

And then it began.

Yuna started to dance. Her moves were slow and fluid, and filled with remorse. She was poetry in motion. A heartbeat passed, and then Tidus joined in. He circled his twin, his dance more masculine and agile, primal and instinctive as a savage dancing in ritual. When Yuna twirled, Tidus jabbed. He ebbed, and she flowed. And Yusuke did not need to see their faces to know that their every movement was burning with poignant sorrow.

The surrounding torches burst in response to their united power, their flames glowing bright and blue. The intensity of their dance grew, until suddenly both Tidus and Yuna were spinning in place, and the surface of the water broke into fountains beneath their feet, lifting them up. The two summoners moved in sync with one another now, waving their weapons low toward the water and then sweeping them high above their heads.

And Yusuke watched as the souls of the dead finally fled their bodies, shimmering wisps of multicolored smoke that whirled and curled as they climbed toward the skies. Yuna and Tidus coaxed them higher with the last bit of their dance.

Inexplicably, within those last few seconds, Yusuke found his attention drawn away from those souls. He found himself watching a certain blond slow his half of the dance in perfect synchronization with that of his sister. Yusuke couldn't look away; he absorbed the sight before him. How diligently Tidus fought the lingering exhaustion etched in his every movement… The tangible sorrow that filled the blond with every breath… How perfectly the torches' blue flames caught and reflected off the fire-blue of Tidus' tear-glistened eyes…

Yusuke blinked, his next breath turning to ice in his lungs.

Crying. Tidus was crying.

Somehow, seeing this, Yusuke suddenly felt two warring emotions he never would have expected. One, that he wanted to drive away the pain that had prompted those tears. And two, knowing the source of Tidus' grief, a feeling of such helpless insignificance that Yusuke didn't know what to do with himself.

~o~

There was a brief pause, while Yuna and Tidus accepted the villagers' tearful gratitude, and only after the last villager had said his piece did the two summoners decide it was time enough to seek the Kilika temple.

The jungles of Kilika Island were larger and thicker than the one on Besaid. Kimahri led the way, with Wakka and Lulu flanking the twin summoners. Exhausted though he must still have been, Tidus' steps were strong and unhesitant, and only occasionally did he pause and lean upon Yuna for support. Yusuke took the rear, his dark eyes constantly scanning the trees. He carefully flexed his aura, sensing a great number of fiends some few meters away in every direction. Only a handful had ignored the dangerous feel of his unfamiliar presence and ventured closer.

Yusuke made them regret that instantly.

Their entourage soon came upon a hillside, with stone steps presumably leading to their destination. And they were met with a giant plant-like creature that Wakka declared to be a 'Sinspawn.' The redhead pointed Yusuke toward one of its whip-lashing tentacles, himself taking aim before the other. Having received his orders, Yusuke crouched low and readied his energy. Between himself and Wakka, they managed to distract the creature long enough for Lulu to chant a series of powerful fire spells.

With a high-pitched squeal, the Sinspawn at last came out of its hard shell, but spat something green and foul-smelling at the mage. Kimahri was quick to shield her, taking the hit himself. Lulu's eyes widened as tendrils of green smoke wafted from the blue beast's wound, and she gasped, "Poison…"

Tidus stumbled over. Hovering his hands over Kimahri's wound, he closed his eyes and began muttering under his breath. Yusuke glanced around, swearing to himself. The Sinspawn was trying to split them up.

Yuna seemed to realize this in the next instant. Conjuring her staff into her fist, she took a step back and threw her weapon arm wide, her free hand reaching entreatingly before her as though waiting to receive her brother's fingers in her own. Heading her call, a glowing circle of runes lit the pavement around her feet, casting streams of light toward the skies.

Recalling the last time he had seen this, Yusuke threw himself to his right, barreling into Wakka and shoving him out of the way just as the red-and-white feathered aeon descended to the ground. The battle seemed to grind to a halt as Yuna greeted the bird, braving its sharp beak to stroke its head.

The aeon's luminescent yellow eyes took in the sight of the Sinspawn, and with a great flap of its wings it leapt into the air. It attacked the Sinspawn, hovering close to claw at the creature with its talons, over and over, until at last the plant-like creature let out one more squeal and slumped to the pavement. It burst into wisps of smoke, and within seconds had disappeared.

Its deed done, the aeon bowed its head low to accept Yuna's grateful petting, and then took flight and vanished as it climbed toward the clouds.

Yusuke straightened to his feet, with Wakka following suit, and he watched as Yuna raced to her brother's side. Though his brow was beaded with perspiration, Tidus smiled in reassurance. Lulu and Wakka smiled as well. Kimahri gave a soft grunt, bracing his spear to the pavement and leaning against it as he stood once more, all evidence of the poisoned wound gone from his furred chest.

Tidus' smile slackened, and he suddenly reeled. Yusuke was there before the others could blink, catching the blond just as he was about to collapse. Tidus fell back against the dark youth's chest, lifting a hand to his head with a weak groan. Drawing in a slow breath, he whispered, "I-I'm sorry, Yusuke. I don't mean to burden you so often…"

Yusuke scoffed, grasping Tidus' wrist and slinging the blond's arm across his shoulders as he shifted to take most of Tidus' weight upon himself. "The way _I_ see it, you had a long day and it's catchin' up to you. That's nothing to be sorry for. After all," he smirked, "you're only human."

Those fiery blue eyes looked up, and Tidus' smile made a slow return.

~o~

"I do apologize, Lord and Lady Summoners," the temple's priest bowed humbly. "But another summoner has already come to pray, and she has yet to leave the sacred chamber."

Yuna assured the man that they could wait, while Tidus seemed content to finally have the chance to rest. Quietly, he asked for Yusuke's assistance to sit down on a stone platform near one of the many statue altars. Lulu stayed with Wakka as the redhead knelt before another statue and began a few prayers of his own, while Kimahri wordlessly guided Yuna near her brother's side in a discreet attempt to look over them both.

Yusuke glanced about, noting that this temple was only slightly grander than the one in Besaid - though, in all fairness, he hadn't exactly taken the time to appreciate that one. After a minute of staring at stone figures which held no personal significance for him, he came around and sat to Tidus' other side. "Out of curiosity, where do we go from here?"

"Luca."

"Another island?"

Tidus smiled, "No. Luca is a shore-side city, on the mainland. I've never been there myself, but Wakka's told me some interesting stories…"

Yusuke quirked an eyebrow, in a fair imitation of a certain youko friend of his. "You don't look all that excited, for a guy goin' someplace new."

"Nearly all of Spira is new to Yuna and me," the blond confessed, glancing aside.

Approaching footsteps drew everyone's attention - except Wakka, who was still muttering in prayer - and heads turned as a scarcely-garbed woman and a muscle-thick man descended the temple stairs. "Ah," the woman spoke. Her voice was low and smooth as silk, as though she expected the world to tremble to the sound of its sensuality. She took in the sight of their entourage, and her dark eyes widened. "_Two_ summoners, traveling together?"

Yuna stood and stepped forward, a smile of greeting tugging at her lips. "My name is Yuna, and I am here with my brother, Tidus. We come from the Isle of Besaid."

"Dona," the woman introduced herself, and there was honeyed venom in her tone. "So… You're the descendents of High Summoner Braska. Quite a name to live up to." Her gaze swept over them; "And all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble!"

Then her gaze settled on Yusuke, and she let out a low feminine chuckle. "And one of you looks to be more _fiend_ than human!"

The tattooed demon bared his fangs in a snarl, the start of a growl building under his breath. Beside him, Tidus discreetly grabbed Yusuke's wrist, giving a slight shake of his head.

The woman seemed not to notice. Turning again to Yuna, she said, "As I recall, Lord Braska had only _two_ guardians. Quality over quantity, you see. Myself, I have need of only one." She flicked a hand, indicating the man standing behind her. "Right, Barthello?"

The man haughtily crossed his arms and said nothing.

Kimahri seemed finally to have heard enough. With just the whisper of a growl, he made to step forward, and Lulu seemed barely able to hold the blue beast back by extending her arm out before him.

"We only have as many guardians as there are people we can trust."

The two paused, and Yuna turned her head. Even Wakka interrupted his prayers to look up. Dona's superior smirk slackened.

Despite his earlier warning to Yusuke, Tidus had pushed to his feet. His hands were fisted at his sides, and his eyes seemed to blaze with blue fire. Yusuke stood as well, catching his own hands to Tidus' shoulders so that the blond would not be forced to reveal how exhausted he still was. Tidus discreetly sank back against Yusuke's bracing hands, accepting the support, even as he continued to pierce Dona with his unyielding gaze.

"Each of our guardians is a friend," he went on, "loyal enough to offer to sacrifice their own safety for ours. How does one refuse, knowing the hardships, and knowing that they know what would be at stake? To have even one friend care that much about us would've been more than enough; having so many swear themselves into guardianship humbles us. My sister and I trust them all with our lives." He took a breath, seeming to strive to calm himself. "We have no quarrel with you, Lady Dona. Please, leave us in peace."

The woman obviously did not enjoy being talked down to in such a manner. Her dark eyes narrowing, she huffed and turned on her heel. "Barthello!" She snapped. "We're leaving!"

After they had gone, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Each seemed absorbed in their own thoughts. Yusuke, however, was busy staring at the blond before him, replaying Tidus' words in his mind. Something in them had struck a chord.

"Well, then," Lulu spoke, breaking the silence. She looked to Yuna, "Are you ready?"

The brunette nodded, and she turned to glance behind her, as though waiting.

Yusuke nearly started as Tidus' hand came up to settle atop one of his own. "I'm sorry," the blond murmured. "But you'll have to wait here…"

The room seemed to dissolve, and Yusuke's eyes focused on the gloved fingers subtly gripping his. After a long pause, he released the blond's shoulders. The hand fell away from his own as he stepped back, and Tidus turned his head to offer the tattooed demon a slow smile.

"Are you sure?" Yusuke found himself asking, and he wondered that his voice had gone gruff with some concern.

Tidus seemed to hear it too, and the blond's smile strengthened. "I'll have plenty of time to rest on the trip to Luca. Don't worry."

He moved then, putting more space between them and at the same time accepting Wakka's support instead. Yuna lightly embraced her brother's free arm, and together with their guardians they ascended the stairs that would lead to the trial antechambers and eventually to the chamber of the Kilika Fayth itself.

Yusuke stood where he was for a minute longer, but then dropped to the stone platform with a heavy sigh.

Looked like he had some waiting to do…

~o~

It was nearly four hours before the door opened again, and the two summoners led their companions down the stairs.

Yusuke stood, stretching his arms over his head. He could have waited much longer before ever feeling uncomfortable, but he knew he would be grateful to get moving again. Sitting so long on a slab of stone reminded him of Raizen, who had done nothing but sit on his throne for centuries, slowly dying through self-inflicted starvation.

Noble as his ancestor's reasons had been, it was one piece of history Yusuke preferred not to dwell upon.

Night had fallen, of course, and lit torches guided them out of the temple. Yusuke followed their entourage down the hill of stone steps, passing by the debris that remained of the impromptu battlefield. They entered the jungle, and Yusuke followed more closely behind the others, taking again his watchful position at the rear and scanning his gaze very carefully over each darkened shadow, every so often flexing his energy in warning to whatever creatures might be waiting.

It was Lulu this time that shouted in alarm, and Yusuke watched as Wakka and Kimahri flanked their two summoners. He looked over their shoulders. Directly in their path waited a very large fiend. Like the Sinspawn they had encountered earlier, this one looked like a monstrous plant. But Yusuke could sense that this one's energy was not enough to be stacked in the same class as the Sinspawn had been.

Lulu backed away, drawing herself closer to her companions with a shake of her head. She had exhausted her magic against the Sinspawn; it was apparent she would need more time to regain her energy. There was a moment's pause as the others debated over their next move.

Yusuke left them to it, stepping forward and crouching low in obvious challenge. The fiend hissed, turning its massive form in jerky waddling motions to give him its full attention.

"Yusuke!"

"I'll distract it," he calmly answered, eyes never leaving his target as he shifted farther away from the rest of them. "You guys think of something while I keep it busy."

"Don't get too close to it," Wakka shouted. "Remember the Sinspawn!"

_Great_, Yusuke seethed, straightening out of his crouch and adjusting his stance. Since making the makai his home, he had given in to his more primal instincts. He had spent months retraining himself, honing his skills until he fought with the speed and style of a cougar - like Raizen before him.

Long-distance tactics, like those he had used on the boat, had become secondary.

He braced his spine and took aim with his right index finger. Taking careful heed of his surroundings, and the close proximity of his travel companions, he began feeding his energy forth. He could feel its warmth pooling into his palm before packing together toward his fingertip. And he could not halt the smirk that tugged at his mouth.

Gotta love the classics.

He fired his spirit gun, taking care to avoid that giant mouthful of what he suspected was poisoned spit. The fiend screeched in pain and fury. Yusuke quickly leapt back, placing himself out of the reach of its lashing tentacles before firing again. To the side, he could hear the others muttering amongst themselves. Lulu and Wakka seemed to be arguing over something that Tidus had said. Yuna, especially, sounded concerned for her twin.

"At least let me share in this with you," she pleaded. "You're so exhausted already…"

Tidus was adamant; from the corner of his eye Yusuke could see the blond stepping forth. "We're still so new to our gifts," he gently but firmly argued. "And I will not risk you summoning twice in one day."

"But, Tidus…"

Yet Kimahri held the brunette back, silently shaking his head. Yusuke shifted, putting even more space between himself and the others as Tidus moved to confront the creature. He fired another bullet of energy, making sure the fiend was too focused on him to notice Tidus' movements.

Tidus' jagged black blade materialized in his outstretched fist, and he tossed it high over his head. It flew up, catching fire as it spun hilt over tip. He caught it again as it fell, and it seemed to do him no harm to touch its fiery heat. Tidus pointed his blade toward the ground. Instead of climbing higher, the flames gathered toward the weapon's tip and then dropped to the dirt. Those same flames split four ways, spinning out and around Tidus' feet before converging into a large ring of low-burning fire.

Yusuke found himself distracted now, almost forgetting about the fiend as he stared at the blond's display. Tidus happened to glance up then, and a slow secretive smile tugged the corner of his lips to find the tattooed demon watching. It was then that the blond stomped his foot to the ground, and the very earth seemed to quake in response. A fiery rune flashed, and a mound of earth rose beneath his feet, seconds before it lifted away from the rest of the ground to reveal a giant sphere of fire blazing beneath it.

Tidus leapt off the elevated earth just as the fiery sphere burst apart, and when the blond came down again he landed kneeling on the back of his new aeon. This one was a great-horned feline aeon, whose very fur seemed alight with the fire that adorned its wrists and ankles and escaped with its every breath.

The aeon landed on all fours on the ground - which, amazingly, did not suffer a hole or other such evidence that it had birthed such a creature. The aeon crouched forward, carefully bringing its head low; Tidus gripped one of its horns with his free hand as he slid down, letting go the moment his feet touched solid ground.

The aeon looked to its summoner with luminescent red eyes, and Tidus pointed with his sword, directing its attention toward the plant-fiend. Growling loudly enough that it echoed amongst the trees, the great-horned aeon spat a large ball of swirling fire at the fiend. Then, while the fiend was writhing in pain and burning to a crisp, the aeon pawed forward and tore at the thing with its claws. Soon the punishment was too much for the fiend, which at last burst into wisps of smoke and then disappeared.

Tidus reeled, and his head fell back. His aeon quickly caught him within the curve of its arm before he could fall, gently holding him as Yuna and the others raced forth in alarm. Kimahri handed his spear over to Lulu and then took the blond in his arms. As the others backed away, Yuna lingered, thanking the aeon even as tears hovered in her eyes.

But Yusuke remained where he stood, still some distance from the rest of them. His fierce brown eyes did not look away from the fiery aeon. And then the aeon turned its head, its luminescent red eyes unerringly meeting his gaze. Yusuke did not flinch, did not glance away but boldly held his ground, feeling the weight of that stare as though he were being tested. When the aeon finally broke eye contact, it did nothing to reveal its judgment, instead clawing at the ground before turning away and leaping into the shadows of the surrounding trees.

It was gone before its very presence could ignite the jungle.


	4. The Games

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Four - The Games**

They left Kilika Island. For three days and nights they sailed, with Wakka and Kimahri and Lulu taking turns standing guard outside their summoners' cabin door. As for Yusuke, he refused to venture below deck, instead preferring to hang out atop an elevated platform near the crow's-nest.

It was there, leaning back against the mast with his arms folded behind his head, watching as the ocean's surface shone clear and calm beneath the stars, that the tattooed demon finally allowed himself a moment to think.

First, he replayed the Sending he had witnessed. All those souls… How they would have been cursed to become fiends, to be hunted down and slain like the lowliest of beasts… It struck him like a blow to the stomach to realize that was what he would be doing on this _pilgrimage_. Helping Wakka and the others to protect Tidus and Yuna from fiends while they journeyed. Fiends that might once have been the unfortunate souls of humans - friends, lovers, mothers or their children. And from what he had seen thus far… the only way to deal with a fiend was to kill it.

The very thought lodged in his throat like bile, and it took a moment to swallow it back down again. He hadn't killed a human since Sensui. And, really, that had been Raizen pulling the trigger. Much as he respected his ancestor, Yusuke _still_ could not forgive him for that one.

Backtracking along the trail of his thoughts, he focused on something else he had witnessed. While helping his brunette twin perform the Sending, Tidus had been so taken with grief, it had spilled over. He had shed tears.

Yusuke had seen things that most humans would only know about in their darkest childhood nightmares. Some of it still haunted him from time to time. So he had understood, and did not think less of Tidus when the blond had wept over so many lost souls.

What had surprised Yusuke was his own reaction upon seeing those tears.

He tore his gaze from the starlit waters, absently slipping his hand between his shirt and tunic to rub at the center of his chest as he relived the feeling in his memory. How he had wrestled with the urge to hit something, claw its eyes out, watch it bleed… And how his demon core had pulsed with such sorrowful insignificance, that his entire body had felt it as a physical ache. Now, he could only rub at his chest once more before dropping his hand with a frustrated sigh.

"Something wrong?"

Yusuke lifted his head, eyes widening. "When'd _you_ finally come to?"

"About twelve minutes ago, I think," Tidus replied as he approached from the platform stairs. He drew near until there was only a few paces between them, and then folded his legs and sat down. The blond's mouth tugged in a slow smile. "Lulu's going to bite Wakka's head off when she learns he fell asleep and allowed me to 'sneak out' like this."

"Won't your sister notice you're missing?"

"Yuna's asleep too," he revealed, and he could not hide the softened tone in his voice when mentioning her name. "I couldn't bring myself to wake her, just to let her know I was up and about."

"So you decided to hang with me?" Yusuke folded his arms again behind his head, settling back with a crooked smirk. "I'm touched."

Tidus accepted the teasing with an easy chuckle, giving a shrug of his shoulder. "I guess I knew you wouldn't snitch on me." He paused then, seeming to hesitate before wondering, "What were you thinking about as I came up? You looked…"

"Pissed?" Yusuke provided, and he watched as a subtle hint of pink tinted that bronzed face. "Never cussed before, huh?"

Tidus shrugged again, glancing aside as he tried to recover himself. "Profane language is against the teachings of Yevon. It's especially forbidden to a summoner."

"Well, damn," he commented, smirking again as that faint blush made a prompt return. "You're, what - seventeen? Eighteen? And you'd never…?"

Tidus took a breath, slowly lifting his head to meet Yusuke's gaze. "Not never," he murmured, as though in confession. "Once… before Yuna and I offered ourselves to the temple…"

Yusuke broke into loud laughter, unable to believe he had not seen that coming. "You gotta be sh- kiddin' me! When?"

"Ten years ago," the blond said, drawing his legs up toward his chest and crossing his arms atop his knees. "Just after our father defeated Sin."

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"It is."

Yusuke cocked his head, his quick eyes taking in the way the blond was sitting, suddenly quiet and composed. And the hint of spark he had glimpsed only seconds ago had fled entirely from those flame blue eyes. Yusuke wondered that he felt an inexplicable urge to call it back. "What happened?"

Tidus sighed, dropping his cheek to his arm, gazing off toward the starlit waters. "All of Spira celebrated…"

He frowned, "That was it?"

An empty smile tugged at the corner of the blond's lips. "It was enough. Our father never came back, you see. And it was a hard blow to Yuna to realize what that meant. That was the day she lost her innocence - I had to fight my own grief _and_ hers to get it back. Her heart used to be so pure, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't revive that pureness." He paused, a dark look flickering across his eyes, and he briefly closed them. "To look at her now, even someone like you would never guess that such an important piece of her heart has gone missing."

Opening his eyes again with another sigh, he continued his tale. "Ten years ago, the people of Spira laughed and shouted in joy to be rid of Sin's terror, even if only temporarily. I know now that they hadn't meant to ignore the pain of two small children. But, back then, all I could think was… 'She's crying. She's crying.' I was hurt, and frustrated, but that doesn't excuse my behavior when I called them all… Well…"

Yusuke gruffly provided the one profanity he thought would apply to such a situation. "Bastards?"

Tidus nodded. After another pause, he lifted his head. And those eyes seemed to have lost their light entirely, absorbed as he was in the memory. "No one heard me, you know. I probably shouted that word enough to be echoed off the cliffs of Mount Gagazet, but no one reprimanded me. No one offered to help, either. Yuna wouldn't speak for weeks, not even after Kimahri had found us and taken us to start over in Besaid. I had never been so afraid for her in my life…"

"Shit," Yusuke muttered under his breath, ashamed now for ever thinking the idea of Tidus swearing was funny. "I-I'm sorry, man. It's no wonder you two are so close, goin' through something like _that_ together…"

"Yes," Tidus sighed. Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "But you never answered me. What was it that had you so upset when I first came up here?"

Yusuke shrugged, uncomfortable. "Only that the reality of what we're doin' is startin' to catch up to me. Killing fiends that might once have been human souls… I know what I said about my own kind, but you happen to be lookin' at one demon who used to make a living out of protecting humanity."

Some tiny flickering of life finally returned to those eyes. "Did you? Doing what?"

Yusuke gave him a long, considering look, but then decided turnabout was fair play. So he shared his tale. His youth as a delinquent, cut short when he had done the unexpected and given his life to save a boy from a speeding car… The ordeal he had had to overcome to earn the right to live again… His new responsibility as a spirit detective, meeting the two demons who would eventually become his most trusted allies… Endless months of training to enhance his physical and spiritual prowess… Arduous and unrelenting battles, most of which testing the strength of his heart more than that of his body…

Dying again, which had awakened his demonic blood and enabled his second resurrection… Learning of Raizen and his ancestral inheritance… His need for revenge against the one to borrow his body to murder Sensui slowly turning into respect for the man he would always remember as _father_… Tricking the warring rulers of the makai to host a free-entrance tournament to decide upon the demon realm's fate… Going back to the human world, where he had tried to settle down and live a normal "human" life, before finally giving in to the call of his demon blood and returning to the makai where he truly belonged…

The sun was just beginning to rise when at last his tale was done. Yusuke drew one leg toward his chest, resting an arm atop his knee as he waited for Tidus' reaction. The blond had turned his eyes toward the ocean while he listened, as though trying to picture the scenes of Yusuke's life within the water's rippling surface.

After several long minutes, Tidus returned his fiery blue gaze to the tattooed demon, and he gave a small smile. "Thank you. I know that can't have been easy to share with me." With one more glance toward the rising sun, he pushed to his feet. "I should probably get back now, before Yuna realizes I'm gone."

"Don't forget to wake Wakka up before Lu finds out he fell asleep at his post," Yusuke added with a slow smirk.

His reminder did what he had meant it to; another small half-smile tugged again at the blond's lips as he descended the platform stairs. Yusuke watched him go, and his demon core pulsed again within his chest so that his entire body ached with it. This time, though, he understood.

Tidus' pain. It was so… real. It almost seemed to consume him. How much effort did it cost him, to plaster that smile on so often, so that his kind and gentle twin would not know that his faith in their people had been shaken? What else had the two of them suffered through together?

What other secrets might Tidus be hiding, so that Yuna's world would not be stained in darkness?

~o~

Yusuke stood upon the bow's railing, perfectly balanced, staring as their boat drifted into harbor. Luca was nothing like Besaid or Kilika. It was a city, easily three times the size of either of the last two villages. Its buildings were larger, grander, built with strong stone bricks and cement, and its streets were paved. There were air balloons everywhere, hinting of a celebration of sorts, and Yusuke suspected it was due to the tournament Wakka had mentioned.

The tattooed demon shook his head as he recalled the redhead's explanation of the sport of blitzball, still unable to believe it. An entire sport played out underwater, with no air masks or other such contraptions to aid their breathing… It was impossible.

Their boat finally came to port, and Yusuke followed the others onto the dock. A great many people were running around, and Yusuke's sharp ears picked out a few voices mentioning the name _Mika_.

Yuna's mismatched eyes lit up, and she turned to her brother. "Maester Mika is here?"

"The tournament _is_ being held in his honor," Tidus commented, thoughtful. "We should probably go, too…"

"Why?" Yusuke wondered as they began to make their way toward another dock. "Who is he?"

"Grand Maester Mika is the leader of all of Spira," Lulu explained. "He's held office for fifty years, and is supported by all the temples of Yevon."

So they wandered after the crowd, arriving in time to watch a small handful of what appeared to be soldiers forming a police-line to separate the people from another boat's ramp. There was a brief, anticipatory wait, and then the crowd began murmuring anew.

And Yusuke clenched his teeth as his senses were bombarded by an ominous pulse of energy.

A man came slowly down the ramp, alone. He was dressed in loose violet robes; his odd hair was an icy blue, and funnily enough reminded Yusuke of Yanagisawa. His complexion was milk-white, though his chest was tattooed with black ink, and pale blue markings etched outward from around his ice blue eyes.

"That's a Guado, right?" One Luca citizen whispered to another. "Who could it be?"

And his companion murmured, "Isn't that… Maester Seymour?"

The man paused, looking over the crowd, and then turned around and sank to his knee, bowing his head as an elderly man in ceremonial-looking robes came down the ramp. The citizens of Luca all followed this example, many doing something with their arms before bowing their own heads, others simply sinking to their knees.

The elderly man paused before them all, and was soon joined by a handful of priests. By Tidus' suddenly attentive posture, and by Yuna's soft gasp, Yusuke surmised that this was the one they called Maester Mika. "People of Spira," he greeted, "I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise, Maester Seymour," he gently bade of the blue-haired man still kneeling before him.

As the other maester straightened to his feet and turned around, Mika added, "I present to you the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a maester of Yevon."

"I am Seymour Guado," the man spoke, his voice soft and gentle, almost deceptively so. "I am honored to receive the title of maester." He paused, briefly closing his eyes as he took in a slow breath; "In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as maester to the best of my abilities."

His words were met with appreciative applause, and then heads were bowed yet again as Mika and his priests followed their guards into the city. Yusuke, new to this world and not yet feeling any special loyalty to its leaders, did not bow his head. He kept his eyes forward, watching what he suspected was the source of the ominous energy he had sensed moments ago. And so he did not miss when Seymour's gaze turned in their direction and appeared to focus on Yuna.

Yusuke might have dismissed that. After all, Yuna and Tidus seemed easily recognizable, both as summoners and as the descendents of the man to have most recently defeated Sin. But then Seymour's mouth tugged in a slow smile, and Yusuke did not like the slightly lecherous gleam in those pale eyes.

Seymour finally turned away, calmly catching up to the rest of the priests - and the moment the maester's back was turned, Yusuke growled an oath under his breath.

The crowd broke apart, the people of Luca going about their separate ways. At Wakka's suggestion, their own small entourage did the same, making their way toward a large building which the redhead had earlier declared to be the stadium. As they went, Yusuke noticed a subtle change in Tidus' stride. The blond was intentionally falling behind. Yusuke kept his own pace steady, allowing Tidus to reach him.

The others did not seem to notice - even Yuna, who was chatting with Lulu. And when their footsteps were aligned, Tidus dropped his head in a slight angle, appearing to observe the city's stone structures. He then spoke so quietly, only Yusuke's sharp ears would have been able to pick out his words:

"I agree…"

The dark youth glanced at the summoner without turning his head, and Tidus took that as his cue to elaborate. "The way he looked at her… I didn't like it, either."

Yusuke hesitated, deliberating. "You remember what you and Yuna told me about sensing my power? And how you said you could trust me?"

Tidus gave a miniscule nod, waiting.

"Demons can do it, too," Yusuke revealed. "And I'm probably a lot more sensitive to the ability than you two. No offense."

"No, none taken," the blond softly assured. "Go on."

"I _don't_ trust this Seymour. And it wasn't just the way he looked at Yuna - that was the tip of the iceberg. There's something about him. Something… offensive. I'm no pure thing, myself, but _that_ guy… He just makes my skin crawl."

"Shall we keep our guard up, do you think?"

Yusuke grinned, liking that they were on the same track. "I was just waiting for you to give the word."

Once they reached the stadium, their number divided into two groups. Wakka was the captain of Besaid's blitzball team, and therefore was needed to participate in the tournament. But it seemed one other was needed as well - their center forward. Yusuke's eyes widened as that player was revealed to him, turning his head in time to catch Tidus' slightly embarrassed smirk.

"Wakka let Tidus practice with the team some months ago," Lulu explained. "It surprised them all to find that he had a natural talent for the game. Wakka thought it was a fluke."

"Hey!" The redhead protested.

Yuna giggled, "He even challenged Tidus to prove himself against the whole team. Tidus got a little carried away and injured three players with one shot." She gave her twin a fond smile, adding, "He's the Aurochs' secret weapon."

And so the blond left with Wakka and Lulu for the locker rooms, while Yusuke followed Yuna and Kimahri toward the stadium's main entrance. But as they made their way toward the stands, they passed a group of four men muttering to each other, and Yuna paused at overhearing them mention what could only have been a name.

Her mismatched eyes shone with excitement as she turned to Kimahri. "Did you hear that?" She whispered eagerly. "Sir Auron! Here, in Luca! Do you suppose we should tell Tidus?"

The blue feline's yellow eyes widened just a fraction, and he shook his head.

Yusuke looked from one to the other, sensing he was missing something. "Someone you know?"

"Sir Auron was one of our father's guardians," Yuna breathlessly explained. She looked again to Kimahri, "We _have_ to tell him; you know what this will mean to him-"

But Kimahri only shook his head again, silently pointing toward the center of the stadium, where a dozen men were working to ready some sort of contraption. Yuna stifled a gasp behind her hand. "You're right," she murmured from behind her fingers. "The games are about to start. This would only destroy his concentration…"

Yusuke frowned, thinking. "If it's important, maybe we should have a look around town. Try to find this guy ourselves, and let your brother know either way after the tournament's done."

She lowered her hand from her mouth, giving a brilliant smile at the idea. "It could be a surprise," she readily agreed. Her hope was very obvious as she lifted her eyes to meet Kimahri's gaze.

The blue beast gave the barest smirk, bobbing his head in a single nod.

~o~

Luca was very crowded; separation seemed ridiculously possible. Yusuke stuck close to Yuna's side as she led them into a small café, not missing that Kimahri seemed to have the same idea. For a moment, Yuna seemed disappointed that they did not immediately find who they were looking for. But the café was crowded enough that she reined in her sigh and began asking about for information.

Yusuke leaned back against the café's bar, casually casting his gaze about while still keeping an eye on her. There was a large monitor behind the bar, and most of the café's patrons were watching avidly as it displayed the blitzball tournament's beginning ceremony. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Kimahri being confronted by two feline creatures like himself, and Yusuke very slightly turned his head so that his sharp ears could pick out their conversation.

"Why not talk, Kimahri?" One of the other felines demanded, distinguishable from his companion by his black mane and inferior build. "Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something! Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?"

"Leave Kimahri, Yenke," the second creature spoke. "Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small, can't see Yenke and Biran's faces."

_Small?_ Yusuke blinked, glancing over to get a better look at them. Impossible as it seemed, the one calling himself Biran was telling the truth. Of the three, Kimahri was severely lacking in height. The other two were at least a head taller.

Was Kimahri… the _runt?_

A couple of women screamed, dragging Yusuke's attention to another part of the café. He straightened away from the bar like a jolt, momentarily motionless with shock as three men dressed in yellow and wearing goggles proceeded to drag Yuna out the door.

"Kimahri!" Yusuke shouted, forcing himself out of it. "Yuna!"

The blue beast abandoned his "companions" in an instant, swiftly following Yusuke out into the square. Yusuke glanced around, swearing under his breath. The square was filled with humans, their scents mixing together so that he could barely separate them, much less determine which belonged to their kidnapped summoner.

Kimahri set a large hand to Yusuke's shoulder, wordlessly motioning with his spear toward the docks, and Yusuke was relieved to be reminded that the blue feline was every bit the predator he looked. Nodding, he gave Kimahri the lead, and together they tracked the kidnappers as far as the docks. There, they encountered several mechanized weapons which attempted to hinder their path. Kimahri's spear quickly took down most of these, while Yusuke in his impatience tore away at the rest.

They finally reached the dock they wanted just as a small boat was preparing to depart. Kimahri did not hesitate, leaping high into the air and landing on the boat's deck, and Yusuke was close behind him. But their arrival was not unanticipated; waiting for them was another mechanized weapon, far larger than all the rest. It looked impenetrable. Kimahri glanced at Yusuke, his silent yellow eyes wondering toward their next move.

Yusuke returned the glance, silently cursing himself for what he knew would be the quickest way. Motioning for Kimahri to stand back, he tapped into a pocket of his demon energy he preferred to keep locked away. His aura flared vengefully, crackling with the pure electric strength he had inherited from his ancestor, the late harbinger of a storm's fury. Though the skies above boasted of a cloudless blue brilliance, a large shard of lightning came crashing down and struck at Yusuke, who let out a ripping snarl as his aura greedily consumed its power. The markings on his skin burned, and he knew from the flash of heat surrounding his eyes that they had darkened to an enraged black.

He could almost hear Raizen's triumphant laughter in the back of his mind, and Yusuke gave an answering smirk, baring his fangs. Lifting his head, he looked again to the mechanized weapon, his energy-sharpened senses swiftly finding the thing's weakness. He pounced, landing upon the machine's back, skillfully weaving his body as the thing tried to unbalance him. There were three metal grinders, all joined together in some way, which seemed to make its head. Yusuke grabbed them, a low growl rumbling within his chest as he tore them free of the machine. Tossing them aside, he crouched forward and lifted his fist high.

One thing he had learned, that long-ago day when Raizen had "borrowed" his body - if you don't want a threat to continue, don't give it the chance to walk away. He threw his fist down, hard, and electric energy flashed as he landed the blow. His other fist followed, more energy crackling when the blow connected. He pummeled his fists into the machine, one after the other, over and over, until finally the thing crumbled to the deck beneath his feet.

Breathing heavily, a low growl escaping with each breath, he lifted his gaze to find Kimahri silently staring at him. "S-sorry," Yusuke stuttered, his body now feeling completely drained. "You s-said it yourself. Fights like a f-fiend…"

The blue feline did not answer, but when Yusuke stumbled as he tried to leap down, Kimahri was quick to catch him before he could fall. Looking up, Yusuke found Kimahri's yellow eyes steadily watching him, and he gave a shaky smirk to realize he had not yet betrayed the blue beast's trust in him.

There was a soft grinding sound, causing them both to tense, and they turned their heads to watch a metallic door lift up and away. Kimahri's muscles relaxed, and Yusuke breathed again. "Yuna."

The brunette came forth, a very worried look in her mismatched eyes. "They said they'd threatened Wakka that they would not release me," she breathlessly informed them, "unless the Aurochs forfeited the first match! We have to get back and let the others know that I'm all right."

Yusuke frowned, thinking quickly. "You're twins, right, so your energies should almost be the same. Wouldn't he know your magic anywhere? Even at a distance?"

The question seemed to give her pause, but then her eyes shone with dawning inspiration. "Y-yes. Yes, he would."

"Then here's the plan," he declared, straightening away from Kimahri's support. His legs buckled a little as he tried to center his weight, but then he could feel his core reasserting itself. "If you can conjure your magic into something solid, I could fire it up into the air high enough to be seen from the stadium. He'd never miss it."

Yuna nodded. She held her hands out before her, lips moving in a whispered incantation. A tiny sphere of light ignited between her palms; she slowly spread her hands apart, and the sphere grew larger and brighter. "It's ready," she eventually announced.

"Throw it up as high as you can," Yusuke instructed, carefully gathering a bit of his still-recovering energy along the veins of his right arm toward his hand. "I'll take care of the rest."

So Yuna lifted her hands above her head, and the spell she had conjured flew several feet into the air. Just as it began to come down again, Yusuke aimed his trigger finger at the thing and fired his spirit gun, letting the single pulse of energy push the brunette's spell a few more meters toward the sky, where it exploded into a ring of white spheres which rolled and spun before themselves exploding into beams of pure magic.

Yusuke whistled. "And I thought _my_ light shows were impressive. What was that, anyway?"

"The teachings call it 'holy'," Yuna explained, her lips tugging in a timid smile. "It's one of the most powerful white spells in the books."

"Well, your brother's gonna have a hard time missin' _that_, for damn sure…" When the brunette suddenly giggled, Yusuke realized he had forgotten to mind his tongue. He offered a self-mocking smirk. "Come on. Let's see if we can't catch the rest of the games."


	5. Guardians

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Five - Guardians**

The games were every bit as impossible as Yusuke had thought they'd be. Two teams of six, swimming about in a giant sphere of water - never once seeming to need to stop for air. Yuna giggled at his increasingly incredulous expression, finally explaining that magic was at work. Every single player had been bespelled by an especially trained white mage before entering the sphere pool: So long as they were in the sphere, the water would pass in and out of their lungs as harmlessly as air itself. After they had left the sphere pool for more than fifteen minutes, the spell would deactivate.

The long wait before the spell's deactivation was necessary, Yuna explained further. The games could sometimes get rough, with players literally pummeling each other out of the water to gain the ball. Often, a player would be injured, and need to be examined by a healer before allowed to reenter the sphere pool. All manner of interrupted/continued play, which would have been a nuisance if the spell had required constant recasting.

Yusuke found himself getting into the sport of blitzball. It had taken several minutes to be sure he understood the rules, but after that it was something else altogether to watch. The real excitement, however, came when the Aurochs team advanced to the finals. According to Yuna, Besaid's players had suffered quite a run of bad luck - always losing the first match of every tournament, and absolutely bombing in the regionals.

Yusuke kept a keen eye on Wakka and Tidus specifically throughout this last match. Wakka seemed to have formed a well-oiled team, despite their dismal record. They worked very well together. And then there was Tidus. Having joined the team only recently, it was a wonder that he seemed to read the movements of his fellow players so well, working that knowledge to the team's advantage.

The tattooed demon began to read something else, something… familiar, in Tidus movements as well. Though, he suspected he was the only one to do so. How smoothly the blond cut through the water, as though he were a part of it. He seemed almost weightless, like he was suspended in space. His movements were so natural, so instinctive, and yet it was not long before Yusuke realized what else he recognized in the way the blond was moving.

The Sending.

That mournful dance, brimming with pain and grief and the absence of hope… The sight of Tidus, moving with all the grace of a primal entity, shimmering crystalline rivulets streaming down that bronzed face… His movements now, despite that he seemed thoroughly focused upon the game, practically bled of that same heart-wrenching anguish.

Yusuke recalled their conversation on the boat, the night before. He knew now that he had only touched upon the surface of the true depths of the blond summoner's despair…

They were coming down to the last minutes of the game. The crowd was on their feet, most cheering for their favorite team or player. Even Yuna was excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet as she and Kimahri watched her brother prepare for a tie-breaking goal.

Yusuke did not need to stand. The sphere pool was elevated enough that he could still watch the game over the heads of the crowd. And yet he found himself leaping to his feet anyway, his demon core pulsing in ominous warning as he caught a potent scent. His dark eyes narrowed as he recognized something in that scent, seconds before voices in the crowd began screaming and shouting in alarm.

The sphere pool, and the stadium itself, was under siege by a mass of fiends.

"Yuna," Yusuke shouted over the noise of the panicking crowd. "Stay with Kimahri!" And he raced down the stands before either could respond.

Though his first impulse was to head for the sphere pool, his mind argued that Tidus, Wakka, and Lulu were capable of protecting themselves and each other. Instead, he left the stadium altogether and made for the streets of the city. _Use your head_, Genkai had often barked at him during training. So many fiends had to have come from somewhere, and like Kurama had once advised him - _Sever the roots, fell the tree._

He followed the scent to the city square, but then it broke apart in several directions. Yusuke swore under his breath; the scent was equally as strong in every direction as it was in the last. He let his eyes glance about, carefully scanning the square, but he found he could not separate the false trails from the true lead.

Another scream caused him to turn sharply around. A large yellow-brown reptilian fiend was stalking toward him, small puffs of black smoke escaping its mouth and nostrils with every breath.

"I guess _you'll_ have to do," Yusuke smirked, crouched low. When the beast leapt forth in an attack, he did the same. They collided in the air, the force of their individual momentums causing both to spin a bit before they collapsed to the street. Yusuke let out a pained snarl as his back hit the pavement, and the fiend pinned one of his arms down with its clawed foot as it loomed over him. Its smoking breath plumed into his face.

Yusuke's smirk grew dangerous. "Forget something?"

The large fiend inched its face closer. The smoke of its breath was thick and hot, and foul-smelling; the fiend huffed a cloud of it into Yusuke's eyes in a clear taunt.

Though living so long in the makai had given him an immunity to such foul and poisoned fumes, Yusuke closed his eyes and turned his head away to steal a breath of clean air. "Suit yourself," he said, and before another second had ticked by, he ripped the nails of his free hand across the side of the fiend's face. The reptile gave a bellowing screech, quickly backing off of Yusuke and shaking its head to chase away the pain. It snarled as it focused again on its prey, four heavily bleeding slash-marks marring half of its face.

Yusuke pushed to his feet, flicking his hand once to shake the blood from his claws, and he challenged the fiend with a fierce, scalding growl of his own.

The fiend charged him this time. Yusuke leapt forth once again, angling his body in the air, using the few seconds he was elevated to fire a bullet of his energy directly at the back of the reptile's head. The fiend fell hard, its gurgling growl cutting short as it burst into a half-dozen wisps of smoke and vanished.

Yusuke came down firmly, his dark eyes staring down at the spot where the fiend had fallen, and the puddle of blood it had left behind. _Another human soul…_ He clenched his teeth, briefly allowing the self-loathing to consume him before casting it aside. But before he could continue with his original search, his senses were bombarded again.

_This_ scent was potent, powerful, and decidedly _less_ than human. Whirling around, the dark youth caught a glimpse of red turning a corner in the direction of the stadium. He swore under his breath and chased after it. The human masses, still panicking and fleeing from the onslaught of attacking fiends, cut across his path again and again, and he muttered another profanity as their scents washed away the one he was trailing.

He arrived before the stadium, skidding to a halt as he chanced to look up and find the one called Seymour standing atop a large balcony. The blue-haired man was watching the chaos with an eerily calm air, his ice-pale blue eyes seeming to gleam with deceit and triumph. He slowly tilted his head back, throwing his arms wide, and the very skies seemed to bleed with hellfire before a giant tri-hooked anchor fell toward the earth.

Yusuke cussed, leaping out of the way. The ground shook as the anchor sank into the pavement as though the streets were molten rock. A handful of seconds later, its chain went taut and tugged it up again - and it wasn't alone. As the anchor lifted away, it brought with it a _very_ large creature bound heavily in chains and warded with sutras and talismans.

Yusuke fisted his head with both hands and dropped to his knees, clenching his teeth with a pained growl as the impossible strength of the creature's aura pressed in against his senses. Peeling his eyes open, he squinted up at the thing. Most of its face was wrapped in bandages, except for one cold blue eye which seemed to glare at all it could see. It glinted fiery bright, and several paces away a winged fiend burst into wisps of smoke just as it was about to attack a human couple.

The dark youth stared, as with each glint of the creature's eye another fiend was destroyed. Soon the surrounding area was spared of the attacking beasts. And with the sudden absence of random screaming, Yusuke suspected the same could be said for the whole city. But then the giant creature turned its head, its suddenly bleeding eye finding and glaring down at Yusuke. Light from the early afternoon sun swam in that eye for an instant, and then gleamed brightly enough that Yusuke was nearly blinded by it.

The creature's aura pressed in even harder against Yusuke's senses, and his skull throbbed. After several seconds, the creature finally broke eye contact, apparently convinced that Yusuke was _not_ the fiend he appeared to be. The pressure of the thing's aura lifted from Yusuke's skull as well, and he dragged in a great hissing breath of air, looking up in time to watch the thing's form waver like rippling water and then vanish. The man called Seymour gave a small smile, turning away and disappearing into the stadium.

An almost soundless dripping distracted Yusuke long enough to look down, and he found a couple drops of blood wetly staining the pavement. Swearing, he passed his hand under his nose, but it had already stopped bleeding. He shakily pushed to his feet, glancing up again toward the abandoned balcony. "What the hell was _that_," he muttered to himself.

"An aeon," another's voice answered, causing Yusuke to whirl sharply around.

A man stood behind him, seeming to carefully observe him from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. The man was perhaps in his early forties, with graying black hair and a pale scar marring one of his caramel brown eyes, seeming to have sealed it shut. He wore dark slacks and a tough vest of black leather underneath a thick red robe, the high collar of which partially hiding the lower half of his face and his five-o'clock shadow. A white jug dangled from a loop of beads at his right hip, and his left arm was cradled within the folds of his robe. His other hand fisted the hilt of a large, smoke-coated silver claymore.**(4)** This he rested upon his shoulder as he calmly returned Yusuke's stare.

Yusuke's eyes narrowed, his demon core pulsing a warning as his senses recognized the feel of this man's aura. _This_ was the presence he had felt earlier, the flash of red he had glimpsed in the square. "I've seen aeons," he finally gave in cautious reply. "That thing was nothing like them."

"It was the dark aeon Anima," the stranger softly insisted. Freeing his left arm from within the folds of his robe, he reached into a pocket and brought out a small white cloth. He offered it forth.

Yusuke gave him a long look before accepting the handkerchief, quickly wiping the rest of the blood from his nose and hand. He crumbled the thing in his fist. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I lost someone," the stranger replied, turning away. "If you're still intent on tailing me, make yourself useful and help me look for him. I'll trust you're not the type to attack a man while his back is turned."

With a muttered oath, Yusuke tossed the ruined handkerchief aside and followed after the man. He was led around the stadium toward the docks, and without hesitation the stranger chose one stocked high with crates upon crates of cargo. Yusuke caught a familiar scent, one that caused his core to seize with alarm, and he quickly grabbed the stranger's free shoulder. "Wait," he hissed, trying to divert the human. "I'll help you look, if you want, but you're not draggin' me to every corner of the city."

The man in red looked over his shoulder, quietly regarding him with his good eye.

"Y-Yusuke…?"

The stranger turned his head toward the new voice. Swearing, Yusuke swiftly placed himself in front of the man, lowering himself in a slight crouch. "Stay back," he warned, and not only to the man in red.

But then he heard the soft scuff of footsteps, and he knew he was ignored. The footsteps halted behind him, and Yusuke watched as the older human's good eye glazed over in a carefully withdrawn expression.

"Yusuke," Tidus spoke again, his voice strangely gruff. "Let him pass."

Glancing over his shoulder, glimpsing the look in the blond's fiery blue eyes, the dark youth nodded and stepped aside. The man in red slowly lowered his claymore, leaning the weapon against a stack of crates and moving slightly away from it in what appeared to be a gesture of goodwill.

Tidus held his distance. He conjured his jagged black shortsword into his fist, lifting it forth and pointing it at the red-robed stranger. "You've got nerve, showing yourself here."

Yusuke stared at the blond summoner, having never before heard him speak in so cold and dangerous a tone.

But the stranger seemed unsurprised, muttering only, "I know."

Tidus' free hand fisted at his side. "You left."

"Yes."

"And you never came back."

"No, I didn't."

"We waited for you," Tidus went on, his tone suddenly very accusing. "_She_ waited."

The older human sighed, looking sincerely repentant. "I'm sorry…"

A long minute passed as they regarded each other in silence. Tidus finally broke the stillness, his metallic black blade vanishing from his fist as he stepped forward. The blond paused just in front of the man in red, but then he threw his fist in a swift strike, one that cracked soundly against the man's jaw as it connected.

The older human reeled from the blow, shifting his foot back to ensure that he remained standing. He spat a mouthful of blood to the pavement, and his good eye gleamed as though his instincts demanded retaliation, but he only straightened again to his full height and waited for the next blow.

It never came. Tidus glared at the older human for the longest minute, anger and hurt warring within his eyes until at last the combination spilled down his cheeks in silver rivulets. Yusuke was rendered motionless with shock, but the man in red reacted immediately. Stepping forth, he fisted the front of Tidus' vest and pulled the young summoner into the circle of his arms. For his part, Tidus tugged himself closer within the stranger's strong embrace, pressing his brow to the man's shoulder.

Yusuke's sharp ears could hear the blond softly demanding, "Why so long? Why only you?"

The older human's face crumbled in an expression of much sorrow and guilt. "Forgive us. The price was… heavier than we'd expected."

Tidus tensed, and he lifted his head to stare up at the man. "J-Jecht…?"

The man closed his good eye, seeming to withdraw within himself as he shook his head. The blond swallowed, burying his face again in the other's shoulder. The man in red held him, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

Yusuke realized suddenly that he was witnessing what had now become a very private moment, but something in the ache of his core forbade him from turning away. A somber handful of minutes passed, until at last Tidus heaved a great sigh and stepped out of the circle of the older man's arms. He swiped a hand at his tears, lifting his head to meet the gaze of the man in red. "I'm sorry. For them. For you." He sighed again, "And I'm sorry that there's no easier way to say this, but it can't be avoided, and you deserve to know."

The older human said nothing, waiting.

"Yuna and I… are summoners now," the blond revealed, as though in confession. "And we've already begun our pilgrimage."

Stark pain flashed in the man's good eye, but he nodded his acceptance of the news. But then he cast his gaze over Tidus' shoulder, to where Yusuke had been standing in the background. "Is he one of your guardians?"

The question seemed to take Tidus by surprise, as he too turned to regard the tattooed demon. "Not exactly," he replied, with a small quirk of his mouth that only Yusuke's swift eyes could catch. "His story is complicated enough without our help."

"A man who can defend himself against a vouivre as I saw him do would be a worthy asset," the other commented, a hint of calculated approval in his good eye as he studied Yusuke. "I see now why you doubted me earlier. You _must_ have seen aeons, traveling as you are with two summoners. What's your name, kid?"

_Kid?_ The dark youth tried not to let it get to him. After all, it wasn't like he had broadcasted the fact that he'd stopped aging at twenty. Even Tidus, who now knew his story, wasn't privy to that final tidbit. "Yusuke," he cautiously gave out. "Mind tellin' me yours, old man?"

"This is Sir Auron," Tidus declared. "He was one of my father's guardians."

4) Could be any of his weapons. Take your pick.


	6. Resolve Like Yours

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Six - Resolve Like Yours**

_Auron._

The name Yuna had overheard before the tournament began. The man she had wanted to find as a surprise for her devoted twin. Who she had nearly been stolen away for…

Yusuke knew a moment of conflict. On the one hand, he didn't like that this was the man to have inadvertently put Yuna at risk. He did not yet know whether he trusted this human. On the other hand… Yuna's prediction seemed to have proven true. Despite his initial reaction to seeing Auron, the reunion did indeed seem to mean a great deal to Tidus.

Yusuke Urameshi found he couldn't bring himself to take that away.

Oblivious to his internal dispute, the man called Auron asked, "If you're not their guardian, why do you travel with them?"

The dark youth shrugged, sharing only a partial truth: "I'm lost. With a big bold question mark on how I got here. Tidus and Yuna are lettin' me tag along, thinking that eventually I might find a way to get back."

"Back, where?"

Yusuke gave him a long, hard look. "Home."

The man in red quirked an eyebrow at that, but seemed to understand that he had touched upon a closed topic. He moved closer, only pausing after there was very little space between Yusuke and himself. "Let me look at your eyes," he softly requested.

"Why," the dark youth demanded, taking a step back.

Yet Auron took another step forward, closing the gap again. "You face a vouivre down without so much as a drop of fear, and yet you flinch away from an 'old man'?"

With a barely concealed snarl at the challenge, Yusuke held his ground. The slightly taller man cocked his head forward, seeming to stare at the tattooed youth over his dark sunglasses. Growing impatient with this human yet to gain his trust, Yusuke bled a trickle of his energy into his eyes, letting them darken to a burning black for an instant before returning to normal. Auron's good eye widened as he quickly straightened away, and Yusuke taunted him with a fanged smirk.

"Who flinched that time?"

"Hmm," the man commented neutrally. Turning away, he fisted the grip of his claymore, hefting the heavy blade again atop his shoulder. When he turned back, his husky tenor was quiet and calm; "And do you plan to see them to the end of their pilgrimage?"

"Auron-!" Tidus began in protest.

But Yusuke only met Auron's gaze, glimpsing something dark and solemn hidden far behind that carefully guarded expression. Yusuke's senses whispered to him that here was a man that knew how to drop out of sight and mind of the world that had spawned him. How long had he disappeared? Why had he waited until now to remind the world of his existence?

"I could ask you the same thing," Yusuke found himself challenging in return.

"What?"

"You're here, aren't you? And I'm guessin' you're not lugging that thing around for show. Why not make yourself useful?" He smirked, "So how 'bout it, old man? I will, if you will."

Auron gave a soft throaty chuckle, turning his head with an arched eyebrow. "Tidus?"

The blond stepped forward, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "Of course. Yusuke has already fitted himself in with us; he only lacked the title. And I know Yuna will be excited to have you as well, Sir Auron, especially after all these years."

Auron returned his attention to Yusuke, suddenly serious again. "You will need to speak the Guardian's Oath. Break it, and the Fayth will strip you of their favor, and you will be forever branded by your blasphemy."

The dark youth nodded.

"You must swear to protect your summoner, to place his safety above your own, even to sacrifice your life if it will mean saving his."

"Would that mean Yuna, too?"

"Any summoner that passes under your care. The Oath does not limit itself."

"Then I will."

"Swear it," the red-robed warrior hissed, demanding.

Yusuke's fierce brown eyes turned to Tidus, capturing the blond's gaze. Tidus was watching him with a strangely withdrawn expression, as though he was not quite certain he wished to hear his newest friend speak the words. Yet a vision of the blond dancing on water - tears streaming, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, surrounded by blue-flamed torches and departing souls - filled Yusuke's core, and his entire frame ached with the memory. "I swear it," the tattooed demon stated clearly. "I swear all of it, to protect my summoner."

Tidus' eyes flickered for an instant, unable to disguise the freshest flash of pain to swim in their depths. But he nodded his acceptance, even offering another smile when Auron looked to him for judgment.

~o~

Auron led them across the square and along some stairs climbing a hill toward the outskirts of the city. Yusuke wondered at this until Tidus, still quiet and somber, explained that it was the only way to leave Luca without chartering another boat - and therefore the most likely place to meet up with the rest of their entourage. His words were verified after they turned the second landing and the voices of their companions slowly drifted within human earshot.

Tidus paused a moment, drawing in one slow breath after another. When Yusuke set a hand to his shoulder, the blond gave him a small smile. "I'm all right, Yusuke," he murmured, just above a whisper. "Just a little tired after that fiend ambush…"

The dark youth's eyes narrowed in concern. "_How_ tired?"

"Drowsy," the blond summoner admitted. "Like I'm walking in fuzz. But not nearly tired enough to make me feel weak."

Nodding, Yusuke dropped his hand and followed behind as they turned the last landing and finally caught sight of their companions.

Kimahri was the first to notice them, but it was Wakka's surprised "Whoa" that drew upon Lulu and Yuna's attention. Yuna's mismatched eyes widened when she caught sight of Auron, but her whole face lit up as she saw that Tidus and Yusuke were right behind him. She raced forward, catching Auron in a quick embrace, and then let him go to throw herself into Tidus' arms. Her blond twin accepted her easily, a strong chuckle escaping his throat as he lifted her up and spun her around before setting her once more to her feet.

And then it became a moment for just the two of them, as though the world had been put on hold. Yuna's smile softened as she ran the fingers of both hands through her twin's feathery blond strands; Tidus closed his eyes with an almost inaudible sigh. He caught her fingers in his, lowering one of her hands to brush the backs of her fingers across his own cheek. An endearing light filled Yuna's eyes; she freed her hand, lacing her fingers together at the back of Tidus' neck and pulling him closer until their foreheads touched.

Yusuke recognized this. He had seen them do something similar in Besaid, just before their first summoning. This time, however, Yusuke understood it for what it was. Tidus, who feared above all else to lose his beloved sister's remaining innocence, did everything he could to preserve it. This especially included never refusing Yuna's love and support when the brunette so clearly wanted to bestow it. For it was clear that Tidus needed his sister.

Perhaps even more than she needed him…

~o~

Some minutes later, while Tidus was informing the others of Auron's offer to join their pilgrimage, and Yusuke's official enlistment as a guardian, Yuna took hold of Yusuke's arm and quietly pulled him aside. Her mismatched eyes were liquid and calm as she led him toward a balcony which overlooked the city square. "You're upset about something," she whispered without preamble.

The tattooed demon gave a wry smirk. "That obvious, huh?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "I'm sorry we didn't immediately find the way to return you home…"

"Don't be," he shrugged, not bothering to correct her. "You said we'd be trekking all over this world, right? I knew better than to expect to find my exit right away."

"I wanted to thank you," Yuna said. "For finding Sir Auron. I've never seen Tidus so happy."

Quirking a dark eyebrow, Yusuke glanced over her shoulder to the blond in question. Tidus was still speaking with Wakka and Lulu. Auron stood off to one side, a corner of his mouth tugging in detached amusement when the blond summoner laughed at something Wakka had said.

There was almost nothing of the vulnerability Yusuke had glimpsed only minutes ago.

"I didn't know he was the one we were looking for when I ran into him, but yeah," the dark youth nodded. "I'm glad things worked out, too." Turning, he leaned his back against the balcony's railing. "So, what's his story? Auron's, I mean."

"You don't like him?"

"Can't say," he shrugged again. "Don't really know the guy."

"Well," Yuna wondered, stepping closer. "What would you like to know?"

"He guarded your old man, right? Him, and what's-his-name. Jacques."

"Jecht," she smiled. "Our uncle."

"Right. And _he's_ not here, because…?"

"I don't really know," Yuna admitted, moving beside him and resting her hands upon the railing, looking out over the city. "He and Sir Auron left with my father on his pilgrimage ten years ago, and Tidus and I haven't seen them since." She smiled again, "Which makes today an even happier occasion. To see Sir Auron again, to have him join us in our pilgrimage…"

"You can practically see the worship in Wakka's eyes," Yusuke snickered.

She gave a soft, feminine giggle. "Sir Auron's something of a legend among guardians. Meeting him was always a dream of Wakka's, though I doubt he ever really expected it to happen. I think he must be beside himself with excitement."

"I believe it." He turned his head to find her smile had widened. "What?"

"You're not very good at hiding it," she whispered, still smiling.

He froze, an unexpected chill dripping down his spine. Cutting a quick glance over to Tidus and the others, Yusuke returned his gaze to the brunette at his side. "Hiding what?"

She straightened away from the railing, turning toward him so that her back was to their companions. Her smile was as strong as ever - but for the briefest instant, she let something dark and sorrowful shimmer in her mismatched eyes. A mere shadow of her brother's hidden pain, but real, nonetheless. After it had gone, Yusuke was almost willing to doubt its existence… until Yuna drew in a breath and began to speak:

"I don't like to pretend, either. But Spira's people need pretenders like us to help them face the darkness. To them, we summoners are their guiding light." Her voice grew softer, "We can't allow them to see how painful it is for us to destroy the souls that were turned into fiends. We can't show our heartache at performing a Sending, or that long travel exhausts us as easily as it does them. We can't remind them that… we are still human."

She looked up, her gaze gently piercing. "I know… I know they understand what we do for them. Deep down, I know they wish they were strong enough to carry this burden with us. But they're afraid, even more so than we. So… I smile."

Yusuke did not respond, his core murmuring uncertainly as he listened and absorbed what she was trying to tell him.

"I ache with them," Yuna whispered, "I push on for them, and I smile. And I smile for my brother… who tries so hard for Spira and for me." She paused, very discreetly moving a hand to her face so that those behind her would not suspect the tear she swiped away. With a slow breath, the corners of her lips pulled back. "Don't stop pretending, Yusuke. Fill our journey with your sharp wit, even your profanity, but never stop pretending. Tidus smiles more, laughs more, because you are not afraid. It's truly something to witness how untouchable, how… _invincible_ you seem in comparison to us. You feel the rules don't apply to you, because this is not your world. Hold on to that; let it strengthen your cockiness, your tenacity. We _need_ resolve like yours." 


	7. Witness

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Seven - Witness**

The Mi'ihen Highroad.

Lulu explained to Yusuke that it was a famous piece of Spira's history. Apparently, some warrior named Mi'ihen had journeyed along this same road long ago on some quest or other and had made quite a name for himself. Thirty minutes of traveling along the road themselves, their own little group paused before a stone statue of the man himself, aged with time but still standing strong as though to protect the road and those who traversed it.

Yusuke cast a glance over his shoulder as they passed the statue by, wondering what it was that had earned Mi'ihen his fame.

Another couple of hours along the road, Tidus suddenly paused again. The blond's eyes were cast to the side of the road, where stood a woman in a gown of several shades of green. Tidus caught his sister's hand in his own, and together they approached the woman.

Her soft brown eyes lit with interest as they drew near. "Here's an encounter to record in the history books."

"Then you _are_ a summoner," Tidus muttered, a small touch of respect in his voice.

"Yes," she smiled. "My name is Belgemine. You are…?"

"Tidus," he introduced himself. He turned his head, tugging slightly on his sister's hand to bring her forward. "And this is Yuna."

"Nice to meet you," she greeted.

The woman looked from one to the other, a knowing light beginning to dawn in her eyes. "Ah, of course. The descendents of High Summoner Braska. Already, I have heard much of you from those leaving Luca before you. But you are still fresh on the road, are you not?"

They nodded.

Her eyes grew sympathetic. "I might have a few things to teach the two of you. If you would accept my help, of course."

Yusuke decided he liked this woman. Her kindness and unassuming smile was in stark difference to Dona's haughty greater-than-thou demeanor.

"What do you have in mind?" Yuna politely wondered.

"You are twins, yes? Are you close?"

Tidus and Yuna nodded again.

"Then I surmise that one is both strength and weakness for the other?"

Yusuke glanced at Tidus, and he knew the blond was only giving out the tiniest fraction of the truth as he confessed, "Yes…"

Belgemine seemed to hear his reluctance in saying even that much, for she offered another soft smile. "The strengths outweigh the weaknesses, child. The unfortunate are those who ever dare challenge that." Still smiling, she returned the conversation to its original topic; "Now. Shall we put those strengths to the test with a friendly duel? I will pit one of my own aeons against one of yours. You need not worry that I'll let it go too far, of course. What do you say?"

The two exchanged a look, as though in silent debate. Yusuke did not need to wait for the decision; grabbing Wakka's arm, he quietly urged the others to back away with him to a safe distance.

It was Yuna who voiced the verdict, confirming what Yusuke had anticipated.

"We'll do our best."

Belgemine summoned first. Conjuring a long thin brass rod into her fist, she lowered her other hand before her and closed her eyes. Fire ignited below her down-turned palm, its flames licking at her fingers. Opening her eyes, Belgemine fisted the flames and threw them to her side. A fiery rune lit the ground where they landed, and the earth shook in response.

_Hell._ Yusuke's hands fisted at his sides, and he braced himself for the surge of energy that preceded the great-horned feline aeon. The fiery beast gazed at Tidus and Yuna for a long moment before turning its attention to the summoner that had called it.

Standing to the other side of Yusuke, Auron spoke almost inaudibly: "Ifrit…"

Belgemine held up her free hand, signaling for her aeon to wait. Her soft brown eyes were nothing but kind as she looked again to her opponents. "Please, don't be shy. Choose your aeon, and show me what you can do."

But Yuna and her brother had little choice. Because the fire aeon had already been brought forth by another, they had only the winged aeon at their call. They turned to each other and clasped their hands together, flinging their free arms wide as their weapons forged themselves in their fists. A ring of runes slowly spun around their feet as beams of light shot toward the skies.

"…and Valefor," Auron gruffly added beneath his breath. And Yusuke realized that the older human was referring to the aeons by what could only have been their true names.

Of course. Auron had already safeguarded one summoner, a decade past. He had already been introduced to the aeons that could empower a summoner's abilities; it would only make sense that he had learned their names as well.

A piercing _Scree!_ announced the winged aeon's arrival as it plummeted down from the skies, rolling in the air before flinging its wings wide to catch a wind only available to the great bird. It hovered in the air a moment, its luminescent yellow eyes glancing among the three summoners. Like the great-horned feline, the winged aeon seemed to understand the situation, calmly settling upon the ground to accept Yuna's welcome before lifting up into the air to await its summoners' command.

As with everything else, Tidus and Yuna battled in perfect synchronization. Belgemine's aeon, the one Auron had called Ifrit, raced forth and tried to claw their winged aeon down from the air, but the great bird - Valefor - swerved and swayed beyond its reach. It could not risk drawing close enough to attack the fiery aeon physically; instead, the brightly colored bird threw cutting gusts of wind at its opponent.

When it became apparent that Ifrit would not be so quick to tire, Yuna and Tidus lifted their weapons high, both shouting their command in unison. Valefor whirled as it lifted higher in the air; it opened its beak and drew back its head. Light and energy began to gather in its mouth, powerful and bright. Tidus and his sister gave the signal, and their aeon spat the energy at Belgemine's fiery beast in a single burning beam of light. The earth exploded in a cloud of earth and dust, and when it had cleared Ifrit had collapsed to the ground and was shaking its head as though dizzy.

"Stop." Belgemine smiled, "That is enough."

Both aeons were dismissed, though not without some show of gratitude from each summoner. Belgemine's smile remained strong as she approached the two who had risen to her challenge. "For ones so young to show such promise… I fear I underestimated you." She glanced from one to the other, "With more training, the two of you could defeat Sin."

Yuna gave a shy smile of her own, quietly embracing her twin brother's arm; Tidus' expression was solemnly grateful. "Thank you," he answered. "But I think _you_ might defeat Sin before we are able to."

The woman's smile slackened, briefly. "I cannot, I'm afraid. It shames me to confide that I… have already tried."

Yuna's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a sudden cry. Tidus grew very still, and Yusuke glimpsed a deadened light in those flame blue eyes.

Belgemine's smile returned, and she dipped her head in a slight bow. "Farewell, descendents of Braska. Trust that we may meet again."

As she walked past their small entourage, Yusuke sucked in a quick hiss of breath and clenched his teeth, turning his head to watch as the woman followed along the road toward the city they had left behind. And he wondered that Belgemine's aura had the same, if somewhat diluted, nonhuman feel to it as did Auron's.

"We've got a few hours of daylight left," Tidus eventually spoke, his voice gruff and inexplicably emotional. "And then we'll need to find somewhere to camp for the night." He paused, glancing down to his sister, whose face was now buried in his shoulder. He lightly smoothed his free hand along her back in a comforting manner, before he looked up again. "Auron?" He requested, "Will you lead us?"

The man nodded, hefting his heavy-bladed claymore atop his shoulder.

"Yuna?" The blond softly spoke once more, turning his eyes again to his twin. The brunette nodded against his shoulder, and after a moment she lifted her head, passing her fingers under her mismatched eyes. Tidus kissed her brow; her mouth lifted in a small smile. They fell in pace behind Auron as the red-robed warrior began to lead them onward.

Their entourage followed where the road led, only occasionally encountering a fiend or two in their path. Auron swiftly proved his unquestionable worthiness in battle, freeing his left arm from the folds of his robe to wield his claymore in a two-fisted grip. And yet, despite the history of greatness seeming to shadow his steps, he was strictly business. Nothing like the showoff Yusuke remembered Kuwabara to have been.

Though Yusuke had already found that he worked best alongside the blue beast Kimahri, he was now discovering that the older warrior's fighting style was not so incompatible to his own, either. Auron was actually very generous in battle, and he never hesitated to guard an ally's back whenever needed. He was especially protective of Tidus and Yuna, and yet at the same time respectful of their abilities to defend themselves.

Finally, as the sun began to set, they happened upon a turn in the road, and beyond that turn stood a modest building and an expanse of fenced-in land which accommodated a number of yellow ostrich-sized birds.

Auron nodded, seeming satisfied. "We rest here."

"But this is an Al Bhed shop," Wakka quickly protested.

"Is that a problem?"

"They don't believe in Yevon," the redhead answered, as though in obvious reminder. "And in Luca… They kidnapped Yuna."

"They _tried_," Yusuke corrected under his breath, letting his fangs peek through in a self-deprecating snarl. The near-success of that abduction still left a foul taste in his mouth.

Auron turned his head, silently regarding the tattooed youth.

Yuna tried to appeal to Wakka; "Sir Auron's just looking out for our health."

But the redhead would have none of that, loudly proclaiming, "I'm not tired, _one bit_!"

"Well," Auron replied, unimpressed. "_I_ am."

When the others began following him into the building, Wakka cussed and fumed but soon gave up his argument for the lost cause it was.

~o~

Yusuke sat outside the shop with his back to the side of the building. He had refused to let anyone waste good coin on a room for him, nor would he bunk with them, firmly declaring that he was quite used to sleeping on the ground. He even preferred it. So, while everyone else was making ready to settle in for the night, he stared off toward the cliffs and bit through a chunk of smoked meat that Yuna had insisted upon buying for him. Yusuke hadn't really wanted it, could have gone days more without a bite to eat, but he'd found that he could _not_ disappoint her over so trivial a matter.

The shop's front door opened, and the dark youth peered around the building in time to watch Auron lead Tidus away toward the cliffs. Yusuke remained where he was, sensing from the tension pouring out of them that the two needed a moment alone. Turning his head, he borrowed a technique taught to him by Kurama and focused all his senses toward a number of blackbirds hiding in the grass some several yards away. How they looked, how they moved… his sharp ears picking out their every infinitesimal sound so that he would not overhear the conversation a handful of paces to his right. He sat back against the side of the shop, folding his free arm behind his head, tearing off another mouthful from his chunk of meat.

Completely absorbed in the distraction. In his own little world.

For about three minutes.

"_What?_"

Tidus' voice broke through, forcibly jarring Yusuke back to reality. Shaking his head to clear it as his senses re-centered themselves, he turned his gaze toward where he had last seen the blond summoner.

Tidus still stood near the cliffs, the late sunset gleaming off his silver armbands and chains and casting a fiery glow in the tawny strands of his hair. Yet it did not compare to the heat in those blue eyes. He was glaring at the ground before his feet, and his fists were flexing at his sides. Auron stood before him, hands gripping Tidus by the shoulders as though he wanted to shake the boy.

Auron's low voice reached Yusuke's sharp ears. "I know about Kilika. And I know you were there. You must have felt him." He paused, one hand leaving Tidus' shoulder to lightly jab two fingers at the center of the blond's chest. "You _must_ have felt him, when you encountered Sin."

_Sin?_ Well, damn. Yusuke hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but now they'd gotten his undivided attention.

Tidus looked sharply up. "Does Yuna know?"

"I wouldn't do that to her," Auron gruffly replied, as though offended. "But _you_ needed to hear it. He wanted me to make sure you understood, and at the earliest opportunity."

"You won't tell her?"

"I'll leave that decision to you."

Tidus turned his head, gazing toward the setting sun for a long minute before finally answering, "I hate the thought of lying to her, but we can't let her know the truth. I nearly lost her once, Auron. I can't tell you what it took for me to bring her back." He returned his gaze to the older man, a dark threat flaring in his eyes. "If Yuna learns of this… it will destroy her. And that will destroy me."

A look of aggrieved acceptance passed between the two, until at last Auron turned toward the shop. As the man approached, his good eye caught sight of Yusuke, who did nothing to hide that he had been sitting there the whole time. The red-robed warrior returned the favor by not pretending that Yusuke hadn't possibly just overheard enough to guess that they were hiding something. Auron passed him by, entering the shop without a word.

"Yusuke…"

He turned his head. Tidus had remained where he stood, gazing again toward the setting sun. At first glance, he might have appeared at ease, comfortable with the chance to spend a moment alone. Yet something in the way his hands were still fisted at his sides beckoned the reassurance of another's company.

Tossing aside his last bit of meat, Yusuke stood and came over. Tidus turned slightly at the sound of his approach, though the blond's gaze remained fixed upon the last changing colors of the sunset. Yusuke paused just behind him, the feel of grief and sorrow emitting from Tidus' aura so strong he could literally taste it. He didn't pretend ignorance, instead gruffly offering, "I'd help, if I could."

"I know," Tidus murmured, not yet turning around. "Thank you."

Yusuke said nothing more for a long minute, watching the motionless summoner, watching the graying dusk play against the blond's silhouette. Tidus' aura was spilling over with a sense of spiraling helplessness. Swearing under his breath, the tattooed demon stepped forward and carefully set his hands to Tidus' shoulders. The blond released a quiet sigh, shifting slightly back, accepting Yusuke's wordless support. Another long minute passed in silence, as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, allowing the earliest stars to peek through.

The silence was gently shattered by Tidus' whispered lament; "I'm afraid for her…"

Yusuke gazed up at the unfamiliar constellations, choosing his words carefully. "I've seen some of what she can do. She's got talent, and she's got spark. Not a bad combination, where I come from. When the time comes… Whatever it is, I think she'll be able to handle it."

Appearing somewhat mollified, the blond nodded in agreement, sinking back more comfortably against Yusuke's chest. The dark youth reined in his shock and did not complain, sensing a weariness in the blond that had little to do with physical exhaustion. Unable to think of anything better with which to reassure the young summoner, he said, "Don't worry. Nothing lasts forever. Even this pilgrimage thing's got to end someday, right? Then you'll have those ten years of peace to look forward to."

Tidus' next breath caught quietly in his throat, and his torso tensed for a moment against the tattooed demon's chest before relaxing once more. "And would you still be there?" He wondered, "Yusuke… Would you follow us all that way, to the very end of our pilgrimage?"

Something in the way those words were spoken gave Yusuke pause, his core murmuring uncertainly. It was doing that a lot, lately. He tried to smirk, "Wasn't that my challenge to the old man? Two guardians, for the price of one?"

Tidus nodded.

Gnawing a fang at the corner of his bottom lip, Yusuke slowly admitted, "Your sister felt sorry I didn't find my exit in Luca, by the way. But then she said something to me that made me think maybe she was hopin' I'd stick around."

The blond youth did not respond for a handful of seconds, but then seemed unable to resist. "What did she say?"

Yusuke sensed the sorrowful vulnerability in Tidus' aura curling in on itself until it was no longer so potent, and he very quietly breathed in relief. His smirk widened. "Well, she gave me the impression that my attitude and bad mouth would be more than enough to keep this party on its toes. And then there was something about the two of you needing my 'resolve'…"

"Resolve," Tidus echoed, and Yusuke nearly believed he had said the wrong thing. But then the blond's shoulders shook with quiet humor, a second before a true, uninhibited laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep within Tidus' chest. "Yes," he agreed, still chuckling. "Your resolve should prove very interesting to witness."


	8. Suicide Mission

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Eight - Suicide Mission**

For the first time since stumbling into this world, Yusuke decided to try for more than an hour or two of sleep. He settled himself once more against the side of the building and borrowed Hiei's _hibernation_ trick - basically shutting down his entire system, but for a single thread of awareness to detect any major shift in his surroundings.

Irony. He really should have seen it coming.

The sun had just peeked from behind the horizon when a pulse of energy bombarded his senses, very rudely waking him. Opening his eyes, he spat a profanity and rolled out of the way as a large, gorilla-armed fiend leapt down from atop the roof of the shop. Yusuke lifted up to his knees in a low crouch, hissing another oath as he fired his spirit gun straight up at the ugly creature. The thing gave a terrible cry, dropping the yellow bird it had obviously intended for its breakfast.

"Here," Auron's voice called from a short distance, and Yusuke watched the fiend turn its head in that direction. "Here, brute!"

"Over here, c'mon," Wakka's voice joined in.

The beast scuffled off with another howl. Near the cliffs, the red-robed warrior and the ex-blitzball captain were waiting for it. And so were Lulu and Kimahri, who were stealthily closing in on it from behind.

"Yusuke," another voice softly called from his left, and he turned his head to find Tidus racing toward him with Yuna closely in tow. The blond summoner sank to his knees beside Yusuke, checking him over. "Are you hurt?"

"No," he shook his head. "The damn thing just caught me off-guard."

"We could only glimpse you from behind its legs," Yuna whispered, her prettily mismatched eyes wide and worried. "We saw you defend yourself, but we didn't know whether it had already gotten to you."

Tidus nodded, solemnly. "Leading it away was Auron's idea. Just in case you needed healing."

"Well, aside from a bruised ego, I'm fine." Yusuke stood, waiting as the other two came to their feet as well before turning his head to check on their companions' progress.

The others were managing to herd the beast toward one of the cliffs. Though the fiend was large enough, it was sluggish and not all that bright. It took very little effort for Auron and the others to crowd it and confuse the creature into stumbling over the edge of the cliff. There was a muffled _thud_ as it hit the ground below, and many wisps of multi-colored smoke flew up as proclamation of the fiend's demise.

"Very well done, indeed," spoke a new voice. Yusuke turned as a man rounded the shop and approached them. He was tall, blond, wore simple clothes in greys and yellows - and yet he carried himself as though born of nobility. Focusing his attention on Tidus and Yuna, he added, "You both must truly be proud to have such guardians."

"Proprietor Rin," Tidus greeted, offering a small bow. "Thank you for allowing us to stay the night in your shop. We apologize for Wakka's… silences."

The older blond chuckled. "No, dear boy, no apology is necessary. I have long accepted Spira's prejudice against my people. Your friend's behavior last night was kinder by far than others I have received over the years."

Yusuke looked from one to the other, knowing he was missing something. But then Yuna, with an expression of such sadness in her eyes, stepped forth. Stretching up on her toes, she pecked a chaste kiss on the man's cheek. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "It shouldn't have to be this way…"

The man's surprised reaction to the kiss dissolved in an instant before her sincerity, and his smile this time was for her alone. "My lady, you humble me. But I am made of stronger stuff than I appear. As are you and your brother. Their intolerance spawns from their ignorance; I cannot blame them for this. I can only wait for the day when all of Spira shall unite - when the Guado, the Ronso, the Crusaders, and the Al Bhed shall be welcomed into society with open arms."

He caught her fingers in his own, and his smile softened. "On that day… I shall look back, and recall the faces of my kin's kin."

Yusuke's eyes widened as he caught up with that last bit. Yuna threw herself at the man with a small cry, and even Tidus seemed to be fighting tears.

~o~

Their small entourage took to the road once more. Auron led the way; the two summoners followed with Lulu and Wakka to either side, while Yusuke and Kimahri guarded the rear. Yusuke flexed his aura often, scanning their surroundings, but very few fiends seemed willing to cross them that morning. He knew he should have felt grateful, but he didn't trust the sudden absence of activity. His core pulsed in burning warning, and somewhere in the back of his mind an imprint of darker energy waited in ominous anticipation.

Beside him, Kimahri let out a low growl - though there was no fiend in immediate sight - and Yusuke knew that the blue feline, too, sensed the calm before the storm. What that storm would bring, however, was still anybody's guess.

As they turned yet another bend in the road, they happened upon something very unanticipated. Sparsely armored men stood beneath an overpass, a few hefting what Yusuke took to be crudely wrought firearms. By Wakka's suddenly closed expression, they were _not_ the type of firearms approved by Yevon. But even more surprising was the sight of the summoner Dona and her guardian Barthello, arguing with one of the armed men.

"How many times do I have to tell you," she was demanding. "I'm a summoner!"

"Sorry, ma'am," the man shook his head. "No exceptions."

"A roadblock," Yusuke groaned.

"It would appear so," murmured Lulu, sounding equally frustrated.

Dona turned at the sound of their voices, her surprise at seeing them quickly hidden behind a mask of indifference. "Oh, it's you. As you can see, not even summoners may pass. But they'll call on us in the end," she predicted, somewhat theatrically. "Mark my words." With that, she and her guardian moved off to the side of the road and made a show of sitting down to wait for her words to prove true.

With a slight frown, Tidus parted from the others and moved toward one of the guards. Yusuke quickly followed with a profanity hissed under his breath, not wanting the blond to be completely without protection. "Excuse me," Tidus requested of the man. "Might we know _why_ we are not permitted to pass?"

"Very sorry for the inconvenience, Lord Summoner," the guard fervently apologized, perhaps heartened by the blond's guileless demeanor. (After Dona, it had to have been quite the improvement.) "But we're in the midst of preparations for Operation Mi'ihen. This roadblock is for the protection of the public."

"Operation Mi'ihen?"

"Yes, sir. We're bringing in Sinspawn from all over Spira."

Yusuke swore again, and Tidus' flame blue eyes widened with much alarm. "What? Why?"

The guard seemed unafraid and just a little defiant as he explained, "Sinspawn invariably draw Sin. We're going to lure it into a trap. This operation is a Crusader-Al Bhed joint mission. We Crusaders lure Sin in, and the Al Bhed strike it down. You see, the Al Bhed hate Sin as much as we do. They managed to salvage ancient machina.**(5)** They say they're as powerful as the mighty aeons." He paused, "Begging my lord's pardon, of course."

Tidus nodded absently, turning away. He did not yet return to the others, instead moving to stand beneath the branches of a tree. Catching a hand to the tree's trunk as though needing the support, he bowed his head and heaved a sigh. Moving around to stand before the blond, Yusuke quickly read and deciphered Tidus' expression.

He had seen Hiei with that same expression, and Kurama was almost never without it - be it in the midst of battle, or immersed in idle conversation. It was the look of someone deep in thought. And after spending so much time in the company of two such demons, the dark youth had long learned to acquire a bit of patience when it came to that expression. So he waited.

After a moment, the blond remembered Yusuke's presence. "I should wish them the best of luck, but I don't know if I could convince myself enough to sound sincere." He glanced over to the guard and back again, whispering, "So many will fall…"

Yusuke clenched his jaw, knowing enough now of this world to know what that meant. "Shouldn't we say something? Stop them from goin' through with it?"

The blond shook his head, slowly, as though it were the most painful thing for him to do. "They wouldn't listen. Sin is a constant threat, and the Calm is such a fulfilling reprieve. Even unto the first sign of Sin's return, the people of Spira become desperate to reclaim the feeling of safety as only brought with the Calm." Sighing again, he cast another glance toward the roadblock, "Even an attempt such as this one will seem worth such reckless hope."

About to argue that point, Yusuke instead suddenly sucked in a quick hiss of breath as his senses were bombarded by a powerful pulse of ominous energy. Recognizing it almost instantly, he sharply turned around in time to watch Seymour Guado come around the bend in the road, flanked by two who seemed to serve as his personal guard. Yusuke spat a torrid profanity under his breath; Tidus and he quickly rejoined their companions.

"We meet again," Seymour greeted their group as a whole. Then his ice-pale eyes settled on Yuna, and only Tidus' hand to his shoulder kept Yusuke from growling aloud. "You are called Lady Yuna, are you not?"

"Y-yes," she stammered, offering a slight bow of her head in returned greeting.

"You look… troubled. Is there anything I can do?"

Yusuke's first impulse was to ask the guy to do something rather perverted to himself and move along. As though reading his mind, Tidus squeezed the tattooed demon's shoulder and tugged discreetly back in a wordless plea for continued restraint.

Yuna turned her head and glanced behind her toward the roadblock and its small number of guards. Seymour cast his gaze in that direction as well, his expression clearing into one of understanding. "I see. If you'll excuse me…"

The guard with which Tidus had spoken came to immediate attention as the blue-haired man approached. He saluted, and Yusuke's sharp ears picked out his greeting. "Maester Seymour. Allow me to show you to the command center."

"Hold," Seymour forestalled the man. "I have a request."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"I need to have the two summoners behind me, and their guardians, let through to the command center."

He glanced very subtly over his shoulder, and the guard followed his gaze. The man's eyes widened as he saw Tidus and Yusuke watching them, swiftly looking again to the maester so as not to give away that they had already spoken. "B-but, sir…"

"You need not worry," Seymour grandly assured. "I will take full responsibility."

The guard sighed, as though he himself did not approve but knew better than to object any further. "Very well, sir. They may pass."

As Seymour and his minions passed under the overpass, three guards left their posts and came forth to lead Tidus and Yuna's entourage beyond the roadblock. The road broke apart and began to twist and bend as they went, and every several feet there stood another man or woman, armed and ready to defend. Along the way, Tidus relayed to the others what he had learned of the Crusaders' intent.

Yusuke gritted his teeth, hard, as with every step foreign energy pulsated against his aura and grew steadily stronger. At first, it felt as though there were fiends nearby, growing in number but nothing much to concern himself with. Then it was as though they grew, in both size and numbers. But eventually Yusuke recognized it for what it was - a collection of dangerous energies battling one another for possession of the same space. He growled under his breath and pulled his own energy in tight so as not to be immediately detected by the Sinspawn.

After nearly an hour of walking, they came within sight of a large metal lift. A large number of armed men all came to attention and saluted. "Hail, Maester Seymour!"

The blue-haired Guado stepped forth with a small smile, spreading his arms wide. "Brave Crusaders of Spira," he intoned, "protectors of all Spira. Believe in the path you have chosen; let faith be your strength. I, Seymour Guado, maester of Yevon, will bear witness to your deeds today."

"Sir!" The soldiers responded.

Seymour watched them go about their business, then turned back with another smile. His eyes found and settled upon Auron, and his expression became one of theatrical surprise, as though he had only now noticed the man. "Ah, Sir Auron! It is an honor. I would be interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years."

Auron's fist tightened around the grip of his claymore, and his good eye narrowed behind his dark glasses. "So would all of Spira," he replied shortly, turning away without another word.

Yusuke stared as the man in red came to stand at his side, the less-than-human feel of the older guardian's aura suddenly cold and forbidding. It seemed Tidus was not the only one who shared Yusuke's dislike for the maester.

"I… see." Shaking his head, Seymour turned his attention upon Yuna again. "Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian."

Yuna nodded in agreement, seeming somewhat awed that the maester would speak with her so casually.

Wakka hesitantly stepped forward. "Excuse me, Maester Seymour? Is… Isn't this operation against the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you going to stop them?"

"It's true," Seymour sighed, indulgent. "I should. However, both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Seymour Guado - the _person_, not the maester of Yevon… As a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavor."

"But they're using forbidden machina."

"Pretend you didn't see them," he shrugged.

Yusuke's eyes narrowed, and by the shocked reactions from the others it was clear that he was not the only one to have found something wrong with that statement.

"B-beg your pardon," Wakka stammered, "but that's not something a maester should say!"

Seymour quirked an eyebrow, "Then pretend I didn't say it." And with that, he turned away and made his way toward the lift, leaving them all in a state of bewilderment.

Yusuke shook his head, and then found himself cocking it to the side as the sound of arguing voices reached his sharp ears. Auron seemed to notice his distraction, for he started off in that direction. Yusuke followed, and soon they were joined by the rest of their companions. As they drew closer, the voices Yusuke had detected grew increasingly clearer, and the words became discernible:

"But why only you, sir?" A young male voice hotly protested. "I want to fight, too!"

A second voice, deeper and older, patiently answered, "Orders are orders."

"I'm _not_ a cadet anymore, sir. Let me go with you, and I'll prove it to them!"

"Guarding the command center is important too, you know."

"But I came all the way from Besaid to fight _Sin_, sir!"

"I know, but an order's an order," the second voice repeated. "To your post, now, Crusader."

Light footsteps echoed against the earth, as a dark-skinned young man raced around a bend in the path and headed toward the lift. Lulu and Yuna each gasped in recognition, and Tidus quickly marched in the direction from which the young man had come. Yusuke and the rest followed, and they soon found the blond standing before a tanned, red-haired man in sparse armor.

"Gatta had a point," Tidus was saying. "But I understand why you said what you did…"

"And at least there's no chance he'll get hurt," Wakka inserted, coming forward. He turned to the other redhead, and his eyes narrowed. "Why are you guys fighting, anyway? Aren't the _almighty_ Al Bhed machina enough?"

"They still need time to get them ready," the man calmly replied, not rising to the bait. "Our job is to keep Sin busy until they're done."

He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms, shaking his head.

"Wakka," the man spoke again, his soft voice gruff with underlying guilt. "I might not get another chance to say this. It's about your brother."

Yusuke blinked. _Brother?_

Suddenly Lulu stepped forth, her voice cracking as she pleaded, "Luzzu, no!"

Wakka looked from one to the other, and it was clear that Lulu's upset reaction did not sit well with him. Uncrossing his arms, he turned to the armored redhead. "What?"

The man called Luzzu seemed to hesitate after Lulu's passionate protest, but only for a moment. His next words were spoken with a formality that seemed out of place with their surroundings. "I'm the one who convinced him… to enlist." He drew in a slow breath, glancing guiltily away. "I'm sorry…"

Only Yusuke's quickened eyes could have caught the warning in the way Wakka's muscles bunched milliseconds before he suddenly threw out his fist in a hard right hook. Luzzu was thrown to the ground by the sheer force of it. When Wakka made as though to follow through with that first punch, Yusuke swiftly moved behind him and grasped the former blitzball captain's arms, hinting at the truth of his superior strength by easily holding the bulkier guardian back.

Wakka, struggling violently against Yusuke's unbreakable hold, glared down at the man at his feet. "When we used to play blitz together," he spoke, growling quite impressively for a human, "Chappu used to say that when we won the Cup… He'd propose to Lulu." (Yusuke started, nearly releasing his captive in his surprise at the revelation.) "And then one day… he goes off and becomes a _Crusader_!"

Breathing heavily, cradling his bruised jaw, Luzzu pushed unsteadily to his feet. "Chappu also said to _me_… that being with your girl is good… But keeping Sin far away from her is better."

"Lu," Wakka stopped struggling to turn his head. "You knew?"

The black mage nodded. "Luzzu told me," she whispered. "Before we left."

Luzzu himself gave a self-deprecating chuckle; "_She_ hit me, too…"

It was then that a female soldier passed by, riding the back of a large yellow bird. "All Crusaders in the vanguard are to assemble on the beach!"

A strange look flicked across Luzzu's face, before he quickly masked it with a wry smirk. "That's my cue." He turned away.

Tidus was suddenly in his path, stopping the man in his tracks with an outstretched hand to Luzzu's shoulder, while Yuna caught her hands to the tanned redhead's other arm. "Sir Luzzu!" She cried, "Please!"

"Don't do this," added Tidus.

Luzzu sighed, eyes glancing down and away. "I have to…"

"Let him go," Auron gruffly insisted. "He's already chosen his path. As the two of you did… when you became summoners."

Yuna gasped and let go of Luzzu's arm. Yusuke, finally releasing Wakka, glimpsed a pained light in Tidus' eyes as the blond slowly lowered his own hand. Tidus made no further protest, himself glancing aside as Luzzu moved past him and left to find his post.

"Hey, Luzzu," Wakka suddenly called. "Don't get yourself killed out there, ya?"

The man paused, and he glanced over his shoulder. "So you can hit me some more?"

Wakka shrugged, his mouth tugging in a hard grin. "That, and I'm sure Lu would like to have another go at you."

The other redhead swung his gaze toward the black mage, who arched her eyebrow in a half-hearted dangerous look, and a martyred smirk painted itself across his lips. "I look forward to it."

Yusuke watched him go, then turned his head in time to witness as Yuna invited herself into her brother's embrace with a small whimper. The pained light in Tidus' eyes smoldered for an instant as his gaze followed Luzzu's retreating back. Witnessing their determination to support their friend's decision, despite that it obviously tormented them, Yusuke had to wonder…

Why? Why play along?

Why stand aside and allow what could only be described as a suicide mission…?

5) Machina = machine. The similarity in spelling kinda makes it obvious, right?


	9. Not His World

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**THIS CHAPTER IS A BIRTHDAY GIFT TO ONE OF MY LOYAL READERS, SLIVERSHELL! HEARTS, STARS, AND HORSESHOES TO YOU!**

**Chapter Nine - Not His World**

They boarded the lift, which took them up the side of a cliff to an elevated piece of landscape overlooking a wide span of beach which bordered a slivery blue ocean. As a guardsman led them toward the command center, Yusuke took note of many men and women preparing a line of cannons. Yusuke's dark eyes widened as their entourage approached a ring of blankets and flags. As they stepped within the circle, he recognized the young man they had glimpsed earlier, whom Tidus had called Gatta, looking morose and sullen to be left out of the main event.

They found Seymour waiting for them, and another man in simple, dirt-sullied robes. This one was short, round, and quite bald. He turned as they entered the circle of blankets that had been dubbed the command center, and his mouth stretched in a wide smile. Surprising Yusuke, he walked right over and trapped Auron in his arms in what might have been a crushing embrace, if not for the man's inferior size.

"I'd heard from Seymour," the man spoke, "but I didn't know if we'd actually cross paths." Releasing Auron, he stepped back, his smile even wider. "Good to see you. Ten years, isn't it?"

Lulu, standing to the other side of Yusuke and noticing his questioning stare, leaned in close to whisper, "That's Wen Kinoc, one of the Four Maesters of Yevon. He leads the warrior monks, and also commands the Crusaders."

"What's he got to do with the old man?" Yusuke hissed.

"I don't know…"

The man called Kinoc was speaking again; "Tell me, Auron. Where have you been the last ten years?"

Though Yusuke suspected such a secret to be strictly taboo, the red-robed guardian did not react quite as coldly as when Seymour had asked. "We don't really have time for this, do we?"

"This plan won't work, you know that," Kinoc answered, lowering his voice as though to share a dark secret of his own. "We'll just let them dream a little."

Auron drew sharply back as though stung, his good eye glaring at the other man. And yet, the bald maester only gave a low chuckle. "A lot has changed over the last ten years. You, for example. What were you doing, and where?"

"Keeping a promise," Auron scowled. "_Some_ of us still believe in preserving a friend's honor."

Kinoc's smile vanished very quickly at that, but before he could say anything, the dark-skinned youth called Gatta entered the command center. "It's time, my lords. The Al Bhed have finished preparations, and the Crusaders are awaiting your order."

"Very good," Seymour Guado nodded, waving Kinoc forth to give the command.

Gatta left, and another guard motioned to Tidus and Yuna. Together with their entourage they followed the Crusader along a path that wound down the side of the cliff toward the beach. Yusuke tailed after them, checking that the aura of his energy was still tightly reined in. As they neared the beach, he took in the sight of so many men and women lined up in rows, weapons at the ready, staring out at the water.

Watching. Waiting.

Close to the shoreline, there stood a tall cage forged of strong steel beams and metal netting, hurriedly wrought to keep its captives within. Yusuke clenched his jaw, however, as the energies of the Sinspawn collided against each other, spilling over in every direction. He fell back behind the others, finally giving in to the need to hold a hand to his head as he tried to filter out their energies from his own. After several moments, he felt a large hand drop to his shoulder and looked up to find Kimahri's cat-yellow eyes steadily watching him.

Yusuke offered a shaky smirk, knowing the blue feline could see right through it. "Lu and Wakka got things covered?"

Kimahri nodded.

"Where's the old man?"

"You're growing fond of that nickname, aren't you," Auron himself responded, coming around the quiet Ronso to stand at Yusuke's other side. His good eye darted to Yusuke's hand, still cradling the side of his skull. "Headache?"

The dark youth tossed him a glance, but any smart remark he might have made stuck in his throat as another wave of warring energies pressed in on his senses. A short grunt of pain escaped through clenched teeth, and his knees buckled. Kimahri was quick to catch him before he could collapse, and even Auron's hand had shot forth to steady him.

Yusuke lifted his other hand to his head, now. A low growl started up from his chest with each ragged breath. He could feel veins of his energy trickling its burning heat toward his eyes, and he quickly squeezed them shut, fighting it back.

Then he heard it. The Sinspawn… their energies battling each other and his own for dominion… And with each strand of foreign energy came a tiny, almost inaudible voice of defiant will. Though what it spoke could not be described in any human language, Yusuke, a being far more primal than he had been born, recognized and understood its threat.

"They won't do it…"

"What?" Auron's voice demanded, and he felt the red-robed warrior shift closer to him to pick out his words. "What did you say?"

"The Sinspawn… They know what the humans are trying to do… They won't play along…"

"How do you know? What do you mean, '_humans_'?"

Snarling through clenched teeth, Yusuke opened his eyes. Auron, seeing the black pools of power his eyes had become, sucked in a breath and stepped back. Yet Kimahri, who had seen this before, simply gave one more squeeze of the tattooed demon's shoulder before letting go. He did not back away, his cat-yellow eyes watchful, remembering what had happened after the last time.

Yusuke crouched low on all fours, blackened eyes narrowing. Heeding his call, a ring of electricity crackled around him before converging its white-hot energy toward the center, where Yusuke absorbed it all with a ripping snarl. His tattoos blazed and burned, staining their chalky blue color into the muted richness of blue ink.

Deep within the back of his mind, Raizen laughed in dark anticipation, and Yusuke responded to that ardor with a fanged smirk of his own. "Kimahri," he spoke, his voice now laced with a subtle resonance. "Watch my back, will you?"

The blue feline nodded, fist tightening around the shaft of his spear. Auron glanced from one to the other, cautiously readying his claymore as he backed out of Yusuke's way. "What are you going to do?"

Yusuke's fangs played against his lower lip as his smirk grew dangerous. "The Sinspawn are bait, right? Time they played the part." And before the other guardian could protest, he was running, his every fiber surrendering to the hunt.

He raced past the rest of their entourage, his ears catching their startled shouts, his quick eyes glimpsing Tidus' stare - curious of Yusuke's altered appearance and behavior, but not frightened by it. He cut through the ranks of the Crusader-Al Bhed army, ignoring their yelps and screams, effortlessly dodging the bullets that some few soldiers had dared to fire in his direction. He couldn't be bothered with them. There was only the hunt.

But then he became suddenly alert to the fact that he was being followed. The pull of the hunt warred with the instinct to defend himself. His lips peeled back, baring his fangs, a low growl rumbling up from his chest in warning. But his pursuers kept coming, either too stupid or too full of themselves to take the hint. He slowed, his growl growing until eventually self-preservation won out. Spinning around, he let loose a ripping snarl that shook the ground at his feet and crackled white-hot electricity in the air.

Five humans and a large blue feline hesitated several feet back, and two of the humans lifted their hands in a helpless gesture. One human, the one in red, was watching him as though waiting for something. Another, the blond with eyes like blue fire, offered a kind smile and showed no fear.

Yusuke knew that one, knew the feel of anguish hidden far beneath its skin. His instincts murmured warily, yet his core pulsed in dim recognition. He turned power-blackened eyes toward the blue feline. The beast raised its spear, pointing it forth, and Yusuke suddenly recalled his hunt. Turning his back upon the blue beast and the one with eyes like fire, he clawed at the dirt and kicked from the ground in a great arcing leap.

He landed on top of the hastily wrought steel cage with a triumphant snarl, and the lesser beasts within its bars hissed and spat at him as they tried to crowd into its farthest corner. With a fanged smirk, he pounced and swung his body over that side of the cage, his hands catching its bars with ease. There was more hissing and spitting as the captive creatures clawed over each other in attempt to put distance between themselves and the new threat.

Yusuke grabbed at the cage's bars and pulled himself around to one after another of its walls, chasing after his prey, taunting their defenselessness. Hefting himself again to its top, he let his eyes measure the hole in the metal netting, and knew himself compact enough to slip through. His fanged smirk grew; he reached his hands in and caught the underside of the netting, pulling himself headfirst into the cage's interior.

His prey's hissing escalated into loud screeching, and the lesser beasts threw themselves to the barred walls as Yusuke dropped to the cage floor. Letting out a low chuckle that was the merest echo of Raizen's laughter ringing in the back of his mind, he crouched low and taunted them with narrowed eyes and bared fangs.

He was ready when the first of them dared to defend itself in an attack. And then the clarity of the moment was blurred into the frenzy of the hunt. The lesser beasts, likely thinking their numbers outweighed the threat of Yusuke's very presence, pounced on him all at once. Yusuke, however, was a creature of speed as well as power, throwing himself and them all over the interior of the cage as the hunt became a reckless bid for survival…

He next became aware of himself when a large hand wrapped around his arm and began to tug. Instincts flaring, he looked sharply up. The blue feline paused, waiting. Some small trickle of sense returned, and Yusuke glanced at the torn corpses littering the cage's interior, staining its floor with their pooling blood and bits of flesh. Looking up again, blackened eyes clearing into fierce brown, he lifted his other hand to catch Kimahri's wrist, letting his furred companion pull him through a newly carved hole in the metallic netting.

He passed out before even his shoulders had been freed.

~o~

_Liquid tendrils of shadow blurred his vision. Tiny specks of light flickered in the distance. He felt weightless. Immaterial. Ethereal. With no beginning, no end. As though he had not been born, merely happened to be. Out of the reach of existence, invisible to the eyes of death… Endless as time itself…_

_One tendril of shadow thickened, took on shape, a form; grew solid, grew corporeal. Colors brightened, separated. A violet hooded vest, splashed with gold, lined with silver; long black shorts, hems frayed and stained with dried sea salt; ribbons of red and blue dangling across a pair of slim hips._

_It was a child. A boy, whose face was hidden under the hood of his vest._

_Yusuke stared at him, slowly coming back to himself, his core pulsing as he recalled his physical self. He was powerful, yes, but not timeless. Even as a demon, he was mortal. And therefore, vulnerable._

_The boy seemed to return his stare from beneath the shadow of his hood, as though his presence there - wherever they were - had been unexpected. His mouth, the only part of his face visible from beneath the hood of his vest, moved in what could only have been described as a saddened smile. And then those tiny lips parted, mouthing something that wrapped tight around Yusuke's core and knocked the air out of him as though he had been kicked in the stomach._

_**Go back, demon. You are still needed.**_

_And then everything went white…_

~o~

"He killed all these people, just for a chance to see me?" Anger. Indignation.

Pain.

_Tidus._

"That's what Sin does." Older, grainier… _Auron._ "He wanted to show that to you. He needed you to understand."

"Why?"

"So that you would kill him," Auron revealed, his gruff voice almost inaudible. "As long as he is Sin, Jecht will keep killing. He wants you to stop him."

"But, _why_? Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who can." Footsteps faded, a sign that Auron had walked away.

There was a long silence, and after a moment Yusuke felt a hesitant hand rest upon his shoulder. "Yusuke?" Tidus' voice whispered. "Are you ready to come around?"

Ignoring the stiffness of his muscles, an ache he felt straight through to his bones, the dark youth blinked his eyes open. He found himself staring up at the skies, which meant he was laying on his back on the ground. Rolling his head on its side, he discovered Tidus kneeling near his shoulder, flame blue eyes filled with concern as the blond watched his slow progress into full awareness. Groaning, Yusuke pushed his fists to the ground and tried to sit up, grateful when Tidus immediately offered assistance.

Yusuke finally took in their surroundings, a cold chill racing down his spine as he spied the endless body count littering the shore. "I-I didn't…?"

"No," the blond softly assured him. "Kimahri explained that you were trying to coax the Sinspawn to call out. You succeeded. This… this was Sin's work."

_Sin…_ "Tidus," he whispered, meeting the other's gaze. "I heard."

Those flame blue eyes flashed for an instant, but then the blond summoner gave a sigh and nodded. "I was aware of that possibility." He turned his head, his gaze roaming over the bodies, seeming to memorize some detail or other of each before moving on. "Truthfully, I think I'm relieved that you know. This is a secret I don't believe myself strong enough to bear alone."

"Auron was tryin' to tell you yesterday, wasn't he," Yusuke realized. "And you made him promise not to tell Yuna."

Tidus nodded again. "Though now I begin to suspect the existence of a more pressing matter…"

"Why? What'd I miss?"

"Quite a lot, actually." The blond's mouth tugged in a vacant smile, "You were out for some time, Yusuke. Shall I fill you in?"

The dark youth nodded.

"You know that it was Kimahri who pulled you out of that cage," Tidus began, shifting to settle more comfortably upon the ground. "He and Auron moved you here, and when the first of the Crusaders sighted Sin, Kimahri stayed behind to shield you from the battle. Most of what happened after that is something of a blur…" He paused, seeming to sort through his memory of the event. "Sin never approached the shore. The Crusaders did manage to distract it while the Al Bhed readied their new weapon, but Sin protected itself with its own aura. The Al Bhed's weapon couldn't begin to pierce it. And then Sin flared its power in an attack of its own. Masses were disintegrated within the blink of an eye… I don't know how the rest of us survived, few as we are…

"Sin never gave us a moment to breathe. It flooded the shallow waters with more of its spawn, and then left. We that survived its first attack were all split up, then, and it became a fight to prove ourselves worthy to live. Some did not succeed…

"One particularly oversized Sinspawn targeted Yuna. I had noticed too late, and was too far away to do anything. Auron was closer, and stronger, so I'd shouted at him to aid her in my stead. But even he was a second too late."

"Wait," Yusuke interrupted, eyes widening as his core pulsed in alarm. "You're not saying…?"

Tidus caught the panicked concern in the tattooed demon's eyes, and was quick to dispel it. "No. She wasn't hurt. Someone came to her defense, throwing himself in the Sinspawn's path at great risk to his own life. I'd nearly believed it suicide, but he held his own against the creature with skill I wouldn't have anticipated, giving Auron the chance to come to Yuna's side, and the three of them together vanquished the Sinspawn."

Yusuke read something familiar in the blond's face, and he felt his core freeze in his chest. "I'm not gonna like findin' out who it was, am I?"

"Not unless you've changed your opinion of the man while you were unconscious," Tidus sighed, shaking his head. "It was Maester Seymour Guado…"

Yusuke swore.

"After everything had calmed down, we set out to find each other. I discovered Kimahri here with you, and Wakka found Lulu… I stayed at your side while they and Kimahri joined up with Auron, who had located Maester Kinoc and a handful of surviving Crusaders… And then the gravity of so many lost lives set in." He glanced aside, a faint hint of pink coloring his bronzed cheeks. "I… couldn't leave you here by yourself… So Yuna performed the Sending alone. It tore at me to see her do it, but she fought back her tears until the ritual's end." Taking a breath, he looked up again and met Yusuke's gaze. "Afterward… Maester Seymour was uncommonly kind, offering words I could not hear to ease her sorrow. He left, after that."

"You gotta know that bastard's up to something," Yusuke warned.

"Yes," the blond sighed. "But I'm afraid we are losing the opportunity to do anything about it. Yuna, you see… I think she is becoming enamored of him. It puts me in a difficult position, for though I would do anything to protect her, I don't wish to take away her smile by voicing my suspicions. I will not be the one to break her heart."

He muttered another profanity. When Tidus chose that moment to stand, Yusuke reached with his hand, and the blond kindly helped him to stand as well. He glanced around, finding their companions waiting together at the start of another road.

"Yusuke…?"

He turned his head; "Yeah?"

Tidus' flame blue eyes were glancing down and away again, as though the blond was afraid his next words would be rejected. "When… you attacked the cage… W-what happened, to make you like that?"

Yusuke heard what the blond meant to ask, and understood. Smirking, he rested a hand to Tidus' shoulder, waiting until those eyes lifted up once more. "You remember what I told you before? Who and what I was, before my demon blood kicked in?"

Tidus nodded.

"After I returned to the makai, I knew that my best chance to survive as a demon was to abandon some of my humanity. I was already known for my ancestry, and my own reputation still held some weight in some regions… But I couldn't coast along on that forever. What you saw… That was me, tapping into the older energy Raizen had imprinted into my soul. I'd spent months honing my animalistic instincts, and now… whenever I need to… I revert back to the beast."

The blond summoner looked as though he was trying to understand such a notion, and something in his expression tugged at Yusuke's core. Following its whisper, he moved his hand across Tidus' shoulder and along the curve of a flawlessly bronzed neck. Tidus sucked in a breath, his fiery blue eyes questioning. His smirk softening against his will, Yusuke lifted his hand and passed his fingers through silken strands of tawny gold before cupping the back of Tidus' head.

"I know you weren't afraid of me," the dark youth gruffly murmured. "Thank you."

Tidus' eyes searched his own for a long moment. The blond gave a hesitant smile; he lifted a gloved hand to slowly bring Yusuke's fingers away from the back of his head. "You're welcome," he whispered.

Yusuke fell silent as he watched him walk away, in the direction of their companions. After another minute, he followed, cursing his reluctance to confess the deeper truth. How the beast had recognized something in the way Tidus had looked at him, so unafraid, so trusting… How the hunt, though satisfying to his more primal instincts, had become something entirely different with that brief look…

When he had attacked that cage… It had no longer simply been to tear away at his prey, or even to secure his own survival. Every instinct had flared to life, under the force of one thought… to protect.

Yusuke absently rubbed a hand over the center of his chest, feeling his core give a tentative pulse in answer. While retraining himself in the makai, the dark youth had grown very attuned to his demonic core, the physical translation of his soul's whisperings. Since his first wakeful moment in Spira, its rare and quiet pulse had begun to stir like never before. Especially around a certain summoner.

His core… and the beast that only Raizen's pocketed energy could awaken… He knew what they were trying to tell him. But he also knew… despite however his instincts could be translated… that he had no right to act on them.

There was still one very important detail, something Yusuke could never allow himself to forget. He did not belong in Spira.

This… was not his world…


	10. The Saving of Spira

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Ten - The Saving of Spira**

Their entourage was especially somber as they followed the road, leaving the disaster called Operation Mi'ihen far behind them. _Survivor's guilt_, Yusuke sighed, tailing after the others and guarding the rear. As a nearly constant victim of it himself, it was easy for the dark youth to recognize the symptoms. And he knew there was nothing that could be said to ease the pain. Yusuke himself had already let it wash over him, had accepted it, and was that much closer to moving on. But it must've hit closer to home for the others, so he could understand that it was taking longer for them.

He had fallen slightly behind yet again, and he quickened his pace to catch up with his companions. This time, however, he had not gone unnoticed. Auron had let Kimahri replace him at the lead, nodding in silent assurance as the others passed him by. Sighing, knowing what was coming and knowing there would be no avoiding it, Yusuke caught up to the man.

Auron gave him a long look with his good eye. "Do you always look like something chewed you up and spat you out after that stunt of yours?"

The tattooed demon found himself giving a hard laugh at the mental image. He should have known better than to expect the other guardian to be subtle about it.

"What happened?" The man asked, point-blank. "And why were Tidus and Kimahri the only ones unsurprised by your display?"

"Because it wasn't Kimahri's first time seein' it," Yusuke admitted easily enough. "And Tidus… trusts me."

Auron, seeming finally to run out of what little patience he'd had, grabbed Yusuke by the arm, stopping them both in their tracks. The rest of their companions continued on ahead, but the older warrior paid them no mind. "I won't go so far as to call you a fiend. But I don't think you're human, either. So, which is it?"

His fierce brown eyes narrowed, and he jerked his arm free. "Are you really that much of a hypocrite, old man?"

"What?"

"I may not be human," he hissed, careful that his words did not carry beyond the two of them. "But at least _I_ can own up to it."

Auron drew back a half-step, fist flexing unconsciously around the hilt of his claymore. Though his good eye remained steady as he returned Yusuke's glare, there was the tiniest hint of uncertainty. "How much do you know?"

"Enough. You're not human, and you're hiding it from the people you pretend to trust."

"When did you-"

"Figure it out?" Yusuke shook his head; "I didn't. I still don't know exactly _what_ you are, old man, but the feel of your aura practically screams 'nonhuman'."

Auron blinked, "I didn't realize you were spiritually sensitive…"

"Why do you think the Sinspawn gave me a headache?" He snapped. "I'm probably the best alarm system you guys got - the more powerful the energy, the easier I can sense it. I'm actually startin' to get pissed off at how much whiplash I'm gettin' because of it." Turning away, Yusuke took off along the road again, confident their companions would eventually stop somewhere to wait for them.

Auron caught up to him in a matter of seconds, falling in step at his side. "Whiplash," the warrior in red slowly repeated. "Is that why I found you with a nosebleed when we first met?"

"Yeah," Yusuke muttered. "Gotta watch out for that. That thing, I don't care what you call it, its power was almost completely the opposite of Tidus and Yuna's aeons…"

"Understandable. Anima is the antithesis to all other aeons."

"Translation?"

"The aeons - Ifrit and Valefor, for example - are incarnations of the Fayth's will to protect Spira from Sin," the warrior reminded. "Anima possesses only the power of destruction. Tempered against an even stronger will, I have heard it said that such power could be tamed. Instead, we find it in the hands of a corrupted man like Seymour Guado…"

Yusuke bared his fangs in a dark scowl at the mention of that name. And for once, Auron knew better than to say anything more.

~o~

Another temple. This one, he was informed, was called Djose.

Yusuke stared. It was rustic-looking, and wedged into the cliffside itself. Large boulders floated around it, held aloft by strong electric energy visible even to human eyes. He quickly suppressed his own energy deep inside himself as they approached the temple's grounds, not wishing to disrupt such a powerful flow. When he was positive that barely a flicker of his aura could escape his hold, he followed his companions closer.

"It's said the Djose Temple only opens itself up like that when a summoner prays to its Fayth," Lulu commented, thoughtful.

Wakka shrugged, "Guess we'll have to wait our turn."

Yusuke gave a slight frown. The only other summoners he'd met so far had been Dona and Belgemine. He wasn't particularly looking forward to running into Dona a third time. And Belgemine had mentioned trying to defeat Sin in the past already, which had to mean she'd already acquired her aeons from each temple. She wouldn't need to visit them again.

"Hey," Tidus whispered, nodding toward something to the side of the temple.

Everyone turned, and Yusuke's sharp eyes picked out a familiar silhouette crouching behind the bare branches of a large plant. As they approached, the tattooed demon recognized who it was before his companions, but it didn't take long for them to catch up.

Yuna gasped, taking her brother by the arm. "Gatta…"

The dark-skinned youth barely acknowledged their presence. Yusuke, tasting the pain in the air from the boy's aura, lightly grabbed Wakka's shoulder when the ex-blitzball captain made to move closer. He gave the redhead a serious look, very softly warning, "He's grieving…"

Wakka's eyes widened, and he turned his head to stare at the boy. After another moment, he nodded and waited until the tattooed demon removed his hand. Yusuke and the others silently watched on as Wakka sank down on his knee beside the boy. "Hey… Gatta?"

"Wakka…" The boy whispered, and his young voice cracked. "I… I found him. I found Luzzu…"

"Yeah?" He urged, his voice unusually hesitant.

"I found him," Gatta whimpered again. Suddenly drawing up his knees, he hugged his legs and buried his face. And then there came the muffled sound of his weeping. "I-I found him… in the water… He was… w-was… _torn in half!_"

Yuna and Lulu gasped aloud, Kimahri let out a pained growl, and Auron turned his head aside. Yusuke caught Tidus' gaze, dark eyes desperately questioning, but the blond gave a very slight shake of his head, mouthing, "_Sin_."

Wakka slammed his fist to the ground with a muttered profanity. "I told him… I _told_ that bastard not to let this happen…"

"I can't do this anymore," Gatta moaned, his young voice cracking emotionally, his entire frame trembling like a leaf as he hunkered further into himself. "I'm returning to Luca and taking the first boat back to Besaid."

Wakka shook his head with another oath, and he leaned close to wrap an arm around the boy's shoulders.

Tidus signaled to the others, and they left the two alone. Yusuke followed, glancing once over his shoulder and hating how a soldier who had been so eager could be left so shaken.

As they approached the temple, the boulders froze in midair and then converged on the temple, hiding all but the rust-covered doors. "Whoever is in there must have completed their prayers," Tidus observed.

"I hope they were successful," Yuna said, letting go of her brother's arm to hold his hand instead. "Let's wish them good fortune for their pilgrimage."

The blond nodded, and together their entourage entered the temple. They gathered in the prayer hall, waiting. Yusuke glanced around at the ring of statues, suddenly realizing he did not know which portrayed the twins' father. He suspected it had to be _one_ of them; the man was still revered for being the most recent to defeat Sin.

The sound of a door opening recaptured his attention, and he watched as two men descended the stairs, with a small boy tailing closely behind them. One man was dark-skinned with black hair; he and the boy were covered in sparse armor. The other man, wearing robes of blue, had longish brown hair that had been tied back and smiling blue eyes.

"I beg your pardon," this one gently spoke as they approached. "But may I ask your names?"

"I am Summoner Tidus," the blond introduced himself. "I travel with my sister, the Lady Yuna, and we hail from the Isle of Besaid."

"Hello," Yuna shyly greeted.

"As I thought," the man nodded, smiling. "The descendents of Lord Braska. You both have the look of your father."

"You knew him?" Tidus wondered.

"No," he apologized, "I have never met the man." Then his smile returned, "But where are my manners? I am Isaaru. I'm a summoner, like you two."

"I'm Pacce," the small boy volunteered. "Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Maroda," added the dark-skinned youth. "I'm my brother's guardian."

Yusuke frowned, glancing to the small boy. Was Pacce their brother, too? Was he traveling with them because there was no other option, or did they really mean to make so young a child a guardian as well?

Isaaru was speaking again. "Since I can remember, I have always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I could be a High Summoner, like he was," he admitted, waving an arm toward one of the statues.

Yusuke turned, dark eyes settling upon the solemn visage of his friends' father. So that was Braska. Proudly cast in stone, reverence obvious in the finest detail… Swallowing, humbled by the sheer presence of the man it honored, the tattooed demon turned his gaze away and returned his attention to the summoners' conversation.

"The both of you must have your father's talent in you," Isaaru was saying now. "I do not fear Sin, knowing either of you might someday defeat it if I cannot."

Tidus' fiery blue eyes flashed, and the blond bowed low to the other summoner. "We have only recently been ordained by the temples of Yevon. Your confidence humbles us."

"Yes," Yuna agreed, herself bowing to the young man.

Isaaru gave a gentle laugh. "Of course, I've no intention of giving up so easily. So, perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?"

Tidus' expression changed very quickly at that, from respectful to carefully withdrawn and even a little pained. Yuna's smile lost its strength. Glancing around, Yusuke saw that each of the others had found something disagreeable about Isaaru's words as well. Before he could wonder at that, however, Yuna stepped forward, her smile firmly in place once more. "Very well," she quietly nodded. "We accept your challenge."

Tidus glanced at his sister, but only squeezed her hand as he turned again to the other summoner. "Let's each pray that the other will not be given the chance to succeed…"

Isaaru's eyes grew gentler than before, with even a glimpse of sadness. "Yes, of course," he whispered. He then motioned to his brothers, and the three of them moved out of the way.

Tidus and Yuna dipped their heads in another bow, before finally leading up the stairs that would lead to the chambers within. Auron went up after them, then Kimahri and Lulu. Before Yusuke could follow, however, a hand grabbed his arm, stopping him. He turned his head, meeting Maroda's ginger-brown gaze.

The dark-skinned youth immediately let go, his expression showing that he meant no harm. "Are you one of their guardians?"

"For all intents and purposes, yeah," Yusuke answered. "Why?"

"My brother has heard a curious rumor," Isaaru softly revealed. "We thought it too important to keep to ourselves."

"We met some of those Crusaders on our way here," Maroda said. "I heard it from them. Seems summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just… disappearing."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"It could just be the fiends got them," Isaaru suggested, gently. "But… not so many, so quickly…"

"Watch your back," Maroda earnestly warned. "With _two_ summoners, your entourage could be in twice as much danger as ours. No matter _how_ many guardians you have."

Yusuke nodded.

Wakka finally entered the temple as the three brothers left, and he sprinted up to Yusuke with a curious frown. "Who were they?"

"Friends," the dark youth firmly declared.

Wakka stared. "Yeah? You finally found someone you know? Can they get you home?"

He shook his head, "No, we'd just met. But I might have to owe them one." Sighing, he turned to the redhead. "C'mon. Everyone else is already on their way to the sacred chamber."

~o~

They caught up to the others in the antechamber. Everyone quietly welcomed Wakka back, and Tidus tossed Yusuke a small smile before he and his twin entered the chamber of the Fayth. Kimahri moved in front of the door, a silent guard.

Yusuke sank back against a wall and crossed his arms, getting comfortable. He knew it would be a while; the last time had taken them four hours. Not that he had any right to complain, even if he felt like it. He remembered Yuna's explanation, that first night he had spoken with her and her brother.

This was the important part. There was no rushing it, and no cutting corners, or they would risk what Wakka had called _excommunication_.

"Well," a woman's voice drawled, breaking the silence. "Look who we have here."

Yusuke swallowed a groan, turning his head. Sure enough, there stood Dona and her guardian Barthello. After meeting the likes of the uncommonly gentle Isaaru, the presence of so arrogant a woman was especially grating.

Barthello suddenly stepped away from Dona, approaching Auron at the far end of the room. Dona, slighted, followed after him as she demanded, "What is it, Barthello? You know this riffraff?"

For once, her man ignored her. "You are… Auron, no?"

The red-robed warrior arched his brow, greatly disinterested and perhaps even a little bored. "What of it?"

"Can I shake your hand?" Barthello requested, surprising everyone. "_Sir_ Auron… You're the reason I became a guardian."

Something dark flickered in Auron's good eye, but he quickly masked it with a gruff chuckle, extending his hand. As Barthello happily shook it, Wakka turned to Dona with a disbelieving look. "Calling the personal guardian to Lord Braska riffraff?"

"And you call yourself a summoner?" Lulu added.

Dona scowled at the both of them, finally snapping at Barthello to return to her side. They picked a corner of the room apart from everyone else to wait, and Dona definitely did _not_ look happy to have been so effectively taken down a peg.

~o~

It was six hours this time, before the door to the sacred chamber slid up behind the wall. Light spilled into the antechamber, and a blurred silhouette grew solid as it drew near, revealing Tidus and Yuna. It was obvious that the praying had taken its toll yet again, as both were so exhausted they could barely lift their feet to come out of the Fayth's chamber.

Kimahri came forth, carefully helping Yuna sink to the floor to rest for a bit. Meanwhile, Yusuke had moved to Tidus' side, taking the blond's arm across his shoulders like he had so often done before and shifting to brace the extra weight.

"You owe _so much_ to your father," Dona spoke up from across the room, and it was clear from her tone that she was still seething. "All these guardians… and now Sir Auron, too?" She pushed away from the wall, crossing the room to stand before them with her fist to her hip. "And I hear Maester Seymour is _quite_ taken with you, little Yuna. The world must look _different_, when you're descended from a High Summoner like Braska!"

Poor Yuna gave a soft cry, and tears sprang to her pretty mismatched eyes. Seeing this, Yusuke bled his power into his own eyes, blackening them, and he gave a fierce growl. Dona quickly backed off, stark fear shaking her barely-garbed figure.

"I asked you once before," Tidus spoke, eyes glaring like blue fire, voice suddenly cold and dangerous. "Now I'm warning you. Leave us in peace. This has nothing to do with our father, which you would see if you weren't so desperate to prove yourself. We are traveling of our own will, summoners ordained by the Fayth and by Yevon. As are you. Stop wasting your energy being jealous of the accident of our heritage, and put it toward the saving of Spira."


	11. Intermission

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Eleven - Intermission**

Late that night, Yusuke was idling about the temple grounds. Glancing up at the stars' unfamiliar constellations, he allowed himself to finally wonder what Hiei and Kurama were up to. He had been in Spira for a week now, which meant he had been absent from his own world for perhaps longer. Had they been to visit his ancestor's lands in that time? Did they yet know he was missing?

Kurama was a tactician, calculative and precise. Yusuke had every confidence that if his absence had been discovered, then the silver fox would be thinking of ways to recover him. It was Hiei that worried him. The fire demon had always been the embodiment of vengeance where Yusuke was concerned, especially after witnessing the ex-detective's second death.

He would probably storm into Spirit World itself and threaten Koenma within an inch of the demigod's immortal life to find their tattooed comrade-

Yusuke interrupted his own thoughts with a cutting profanity. Had it really taken him this long to think of it?

_Koenma._

Spira was a world like any other. The laws of life and death applied here, as they did anywhere else. The people here referred to the afterlife as the Farplane, but it should still count, right?

But, just as quickly as the inspiration had hit him, Yusuke found himself setting it aside with a heavy sigh.

He was needed here. Even if his role in the defeat of Sin was to be a small one, Yusuke had given his word. He knew he would strive to keep it for as long as he could.

Heavy footsteps caught his attention, and Yusuke turned to find Kimahri approaching. The blue feline paused, cat-yellow eyes gazing at him through the dark, and it took nothing at all for Yusuke to read that look. So when Kimahri turned away without a word, the tattooed demon wordlessly followed him back into the temple.

Tidus and Yuna had been exhausted when they'd left the Fayth's chambers, but then they had taxed themselves even further by healing the wounded that had sought sanctuary within the temple. Some few could not have been saved, however - souls that had been Sent to the Farplane so that they might know peace. In appreciation for the twin summoners' efforts, the Djose priests had let out a few rooms for their entourage.

The door of one was currently guarded by Auron, who looked very intimidating even without his claymore. The middle-aged warrior arched his eyebrow as Yusuke approached, but said nothing when the dark youth quietly let himself in.

Almost immediately, he found himself assaulted by a weeping brunette, as Yuna had attached herself to him the moment the door had shut behind him. Pushing back his shock, he carefully held her to him. He had known _something_ was up, or Kimahri would not have been sent to retrieve him. As he waited for her to calm down, Yusuke glanced over her head to the beds across the room. One was vacant, as Yuna was presently clinging to the front of Yusuke's tunic. Upon the other lay her brother, covers kicked down and away, trembling in his sleep and smelling faintly of sweat and hopeless fear.

Sighing, the dark youth set his hands to Yuna's shoulders, gently urging some space between them. Tear-glistened mismatched eyes looked up, and Yusuke clenched his jaw as he passed his thumbs over her dampened cheeks. "Never stop pretending," he gruffly whispered. "Remember?"

Biting at her lip, she drew a shaky breath and nodded her head.

"You can't let them see you cry," Yusuke added, softly quoting words she herself had spoken to him. "They can't carry the burden for you. Show them that you're strong enough to be their guiding light."

Sniffling, she swiped at her tears and nodded again. Drawing in another great breath, she finally calmed enough to speak. "H-he couldn't sleep. I asked him to try; I-I didn't want him to stay so exhausted when we set off again tomorrow. But now I think he's having nightmares, a-and he wouldn't respond when I called to him…"

_Why, on top of everything else, do you suddenly have to remind me of Keiko?_ Shaking his head, Yusuke leaned forth and placed a brotherly kiss to her brow. He then led her to her own bed, waiting until she sat down before turning to her twin.

Tidus was groaning in his sleep now, tossing his head to the side with a pained cry. Beads of sweat peppered his hairline, and the hollow of his throat was clammy with it. Yusuke sat on the edge of the bed and set his hand to the blond's arm. Tidus seemed to recognize his touch, for the tortured expression his face had been locked in cleared and he immediately ceased trembling.

_He trusts me that much?_ Disbelieving, the tattooed demon moved his hand to Tidus' shoulder and shook it.

Flame blue eyes blinked open, but they were hazed and unfocused. Swearing under his breath, Yusuke slid his hand down along the blond's arm and lightly gripped Tidus' fingers in his own. Eyes slowly clearing, the blond eventually awoke enough to focus on him. Tidus gave a weak, apologetic smile, hiding nothing. "Thank you, Yusuke…"

Nodding, thinking he had done what he'd come to do, the dark youth stood. But the fingers around his own gripped tight, stalling him, and he looked down again. Tidus had turned his head slightly toward the wall, perhaps to hide from Yuna that his eyes had clouded again, remembering the pain that had darkened his dreams.

His lips moved almost soundlessly, but Yusuke's quick ears picked out the whispered request: "Can your powers take away what I know?"

Clenching his jaw, Yusuke silently shook his head.

Tidus saw his answer, eyes clouding further. "Don't leave me…?"

His core pulsed with a sudden flush of warmth, and Yusuke cursed himself for being too weak to resist its call. Leaning forward until his mouth hovered over the blond's ear, he murmured, "I'll be right outside that door."

The blond's fingers squeezed around his, but then let him go. Straightening, finding that those blue eyes had closed as though to shut out the rest of the world, the dark youth pushed to his feet. As he turned toward the door, he caught Yuna's gaze. The brunette gave him a tremulous smile. It was obvious she knew that they'd shared words, and that such words had been deliberately kept from her, but there was no hurt or suspicion in her pretty eyes. She seemed calmer, though, and ready to return to sleep. Yusuke let himself out.

Auron and Kimahri regarded him in silence as he closed the door behind him, but no questions were asked. The tattooed demon quietly insisted upon taking over Auron's shift to guard the door, but only after seeing that he was unmoving in his decision did the red-robed warrior finally agree. He and Kimahri retired to their rooms.

Yusuke moved to the side of the door and leaned his back to the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and scanning his eyes over the emptied prayer hall. Minutes slipped into hours. When Wakka (and later, Lulu) came to relieve him of his post, he firmly shook his head and stayed where he was. The light from the windows eventually grayed and then brightened, warning of the approaching sunrise.

It was then that Yusuke heard it. Something which called both to his core and to the primal beast buried within. His own name, softly whispered from the other side of the door. And he knew, with that reluctant yet trusting plea, that the battle had been lost.

Sighing, he shoved away from the wall and soundlessly let himself back into the room.


	12. Sin

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Twelve - Sin**

They took to the road again. Though the disaster of Operation Mi'ihen still hovered in the back of their minds, Yusuke could sense in his companions that a full night's rest had set them well on their way to accepting their grief and setting it aside.

Tidus, though, seemed especially somber. So much so, that he could not hide it from his beloved twin. Yuna often glanced to him in concern. Yusuke, sensing the cracks in Tidus' mask, swiftly grabbed the blond by the arms and pulled him to the back of the entourage. Yuna's expression cleared into one of trustful gratitude, and she prevented the others from asking questions as they continued on.

The tattooed demon waited out a couple paces before releasing Tidus' arms, and they began to follow the others again.

Naked pain flashing like blue fire in his eyes, the bronzed summoner murmured, "I'm sorry, Yusuke…"

"Don't be," he hissed, glancing behind them and finally judging that he had put enough distance between himself and the Djose temple. Letting out a slow breath, he carefully loosed his energy - a trickle at a time, gradually, until it hummed again beneath his very skin. Flexing it, stretching its muscles, he opened his senses and made himself _aware_ once more.

Keeping pace at his side, Tidus suddenly conjured his jagged black blade into his fist.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping myself alert," the blond softly replied. "Weapons training always used to require such demanding focus."

Yusuke needed no other explanation than that. Training had always provided a great rush for him, as well. He could already sense some stability slipping back into Tidus' aura. The dark youth smirked. "And is weapons training standard issue for an aspiring summoner?"

Tidus gave a small chuckle, "Not exactly. You see, it was Yuna who originally decided to train as a summoner. My first reaction, beyond the shock, was to train to become her guardian." He shrugged; "It felt only right. I'd been trying to protect my sister for most of our lives. And the Crusader who trained me often said I showed promise.

"But then I began to tire, too quickly and more easily than my training warranted. I had little trouble realizing what was happening. My body, once joined with my twin's in the womb, could sense Yuna's exhaustion and was echoing it as my own. I began to understand the toll training as a summoner was taking on my sister. I theorized that if I could be laden with her exhaustion, then why couldn't _she_ borrow my strength?"

"So you hopped from one to the other?"

"I didn't even have to think about it."

"But now _you're_ the one taking the worst of it," Yusuke pointed out, smirking. "You can't tell me you were countin' on that."

"Well, no," Tidus chuckled, ruefully. "I'm afraid the exchange _is_ a bit uneven."

Yusuke laughed, which in turn coaxed the blond to join in. Neither paid any mind to the fact that their companions heard and were glancing back at the both of them in startled disbelief.

~o~

This particular stretch of road was a long one. Two days since leaving Djose, they were still following it toward what Tidus had called the Moonflow. They rested often, and camped at the roadside each night. And Kimahri would take Yusuke into the trees where they would hunt small animals to feed their human companions.

Returning from one such hunt with a family of rabbits, they found that their entourage had some company. A pair of catlike creatures like Kimahri, yet differing in size and color. Yusuke, having seen these two in Luca and remembering their taunts, let a low growl slip through bared fangs. Yet Kimahri shook his head, handing over his half of their catch and approaching the two himself.

One, the blond Ronso, noticed Kimahri and bellowed a short roar. "Hornless!"

"Yes, Hornless," his black-maned companion called.

Yusuke fierce brown eyes narrowed, recognizing from their behavior that the second one, Yenke, behaved very much like the blond one, Biran's, lemming.

It was then that Kimahri spoke, the first that Yusuke had heard him do so since the dark youth had awakened in this world, and his voice was deep and gravelly as Yusuke had suspected it to be. "You come to insult Kimahri?"

The two exchanged a glance, and the one called Biran became serious. "Wrong. We come to _warn_ Kimahri."

"Summoners disappear," Yenke announced. "Never return."

Biran added, "Next will be Kimahri's summoners."

Wakka and Lulu murmured in alarm at hearing this, and Auron's good eye narrowed into a dangerous slit. Yuna curled in closer to her brother's side; Tidus discreetly glanced over and caught Yusuke's gaze.

Yenke gave a hard laugh, seeming unable to resist any longer. "Poor Kimahri! Lose his horn, next lose his summoners!"

His companion scoffed, and the two turned away, following the road to whatever destination.

But Kimahri was already dismissing them from his mind, returning to Yusuke's side and helping the tattooed demon to skin their rabbits. Wakka got started on readying a fire, while Tidus sharpened a handful of thin branches into spikes. Everyone was quiet for several minutes, before Lulu finally spoke up. "I'm worried… about those disappearing summoners…"

"They aren't just disappearing into thin air," Auron agreed, his expression withdrawn and suspicious.

Yusuke breathed a profanity as his claws suddenly slipped across the rabbit flesh and nicked the inside of his other wrist. Standing, lifting the cut to his mouth, he passed the meat to Kimahri and left the circle. He had just entered the shadows of the trees when he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to find that Tidus and Yuna had followed him.

The brunette approached with a shy smile, reaching for his cut wrist and closing her other hand over it. Soft light emitted from beneath her fingers, and when she drew her hand away the cut had sealed itself and vanished.

Yusuke smirked, not wanting to hurt her feelings by admitting that he could've healed it himself. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she answered, smile lingering.

"Yusuke," Tidus spoke, stepping forth. "Did you know… about the disappearing summoners?"

He sighed, nodding. "Yeah. I knew."

"When did you find out?" Yuna gently wondered.

"After you two talked with Isaaru at Djose. Maroda told me. He thought it was just a rumor, but he wanted me to stay alert." The dark youth shrugged, "I didn't tell anyone, because I didn't want to cause a panic."

"And?" Tidus solemnly asked. "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

Yusuke gave a fanged smirk, one that did not reach his eyes. "Not my world, remember? _Unusual_ is pretty much becoming the norm for me. But I haven't seen anything that would make me think you two are in danger. Yet, anyway."

"There is strength in numbers," the blond reminded. "And now that we have all been warned, we stand a better chance of avoiding this obstacle."

His sister nodded, mouth tugging in another smile.

Yusuke glanced from one to the other, and he was not so confident. His core murmured uncertainly, unable to dispel his concern, and it needed to be said. "I don't know if I can help this time. This sounds a little too coordinated for fiends, or even Sinspawn, and I don't like the idea of it being the work of humans." He paused, turning his gaze away; "I could stop a human if I had to, it's just… I really _don't_ want to have to."

A long moment passed, before a pair of feminine hands lightly embraced his arm. Stunned, Yusuke looked up to find Yuna gently smiling at him, the start of tears brimming in her eyes. In her smile, there was every sympathy toward his turmoil, even if she did not truly know the reason behind it.

But Tidus had heard the dark youth's tale. In _his_ eyes burned the deepest sense of understanding, and he did not cast Yusuke's fears aside with a smile, or even a whispered apology. The blond simply met the tattooed demon's dark eyes with his of blue fire, taking in Yusuke's pain and reflecting it as an echo of his own.

~o~

The next day, they were met by a more welcome encounter. It was the summoner Belgemine, standing to the side of the road and out of the way of a passing cart. Their own entourage stood aside as well, as the cart seemed to be headed in the direction from which they had come, and after it had rolled far enough along the road, Tidus approached the woman in green.

"Hello again," Belgemine greeted. Her soft brown eyes were kind and empathetic as she confessed, "I heard you took part in Operation Mi'ihen. You've seen now that machina are not the answer. In the end," she sighed, sadly, "only summoners can hope to defeat Sin."

"Yes," Tidus replied, while beside him Yuna quietly nodded. "But, seeing firsthand what it is capable of, I'm afraid we must train harder before we dare challenge Sin."

The woman gave a soft smile in understanding. "I can help with that, if you like. I propose another contest of aeons. Not here, of course; it would be perilous to those traveling the road." Turning, she waved her hand toward the open fields. "There. We will have sufficient space, and no one will get hurt."

Nodding, Tidus and Yuna led their companions in that direction. Yusuke joined the others guardians in gathering a safe distance behind their summoners, who both conjured their weapons at the ready. Remembering which element had dominated at the Djose temple, and suspecting that at least one of the three would draw upon its power, the tattooed demon quickly drew his own energy tight within himself to avoid any backlash.

He found himself wondering if Raizen hadn't been a fortune-teller. Or maybe the human his ancestor had taken for a lover.

Maybe it was just him.

Because when Belgemine threw her arms wide, small points of electric energy sparked at her fingertips and then gathered into her palms. From there it crept along her arms before colliding together in an orb of power before the center of her chest. She threw her head back, gasping aloud, and the glowing orb left her chest to circle around her before diving into the ground before her feet.

A white rune lit the earth. Belgemine fisted the air, and her brass rod conjured itself in her hand. This, she thrust into the very center of the rune, and like a lightning rod working in reverse it drew the electric energy from beneath the earth. It crackled along the rod's surface for a second or two, and then suddenly gave off a soundless explosion of light.

When the light faded, the rod had vanished. In its place stood a magnificent horned stallion, its coat a dusty grey, its mane and tail a faded white. The horn atop its brow seemed wrought of gold, as did its hooves, and dangling from a cord around the base of the horn were two blood-red sutras marked with black ink.

The horned stallion turned its head, glowing milk-white eyes watching as Belgemine stepped around it to speak again to Tidus and Yuna. "Come, now," she smiled kindly. "Let me see how well you are learning."

Yuna and her brother shared a lingering glance, before the two turned and stood with their backs to each other. Tidus tossed his black shortsword high over his head, while Yuna twirled her faerie-eyed staff in her hands. Both weapons ignited with fire. Tidus' blade dropped into his waiting hand at the same instant that Yuna's staff stopped twirling and stood erect in her fist. The flames they had conjured dripped from their weapons to the ground before their feet, circling the two summoners before joining together in a fine ring of fire.

Tidus stomped his foot to the earth, and the fiery ring burst into a glowing red rune before the ground shook and lifted up to reveal the large sphere of fire which heralded their aeon's arrival. Then the sphere broke apart, and the fiery aeon Ifrit carefully caught Yuna in the curl of its great arm as they fell again to the earth. Tidus, meanwhile, had flipped and twisted his body in the air and now fell safely to the great-horned feline's back.

With a tenderness not expected of its obvious strength and power, Ifrit helped Yuna to her feet. Tidus gripped one of the aeon's horns and slid to the ground, as he had done the last time. And when the fiery feline turned its dark red eyes to those who had called it, both he and his sister directed its attention to Belgemine's horned stallion.

Ifrit's fiery strength, versus the stallion's electric speed. The resulting battle proved quite an event to witness.

At first, the twin summoners' aeon tried to rely solely on physical might to slow the horned stallion. But Belgemine's aeon was a blur of movement, always dodging, always evading, and throwing quick shocks of electricity at Ifrit when the fiery feline's back was exposed. Ifrit roared in frustration, but Tidus and Yuna swiftly realized the solution. Recalling their aeon to their side, they gave out a different order.

The field grew suddenly very warm, stiflingly humid, in a way that called to Yusuke's mind the green jungles of Kilika. Thin fountains of fire erupted from the earth, surrounding Belgemine's horned stallion, trapping it, removing the freedom to run away. Then the twin summoners began chanting a single word, and with each utterance of its lone syllable Ifrit weaved its great hand in the air and conjured a burst of flames which bit and ripped at the horned stallion.

But this was a friendly contest, not a fight for survival. And so, after only a handful of seconds more, they bade Ifrit to cease its attack before any true harm could be inflicted. They quietly offered their gratitude, and Ifrit ran off across the fields, disappearing long before he had gone too far for eyes to follow.

Belgemine set a gentle hand to her horned stallion's flank, whispering to it briefly, before stepping out of the way of the soundless explosion of light that announced its departure. The woman's soft brown eyes turned to Tidus and Yuna, and she smiled. "Impressive. You reasoned that magic is not so easily avoided. You've bested me fairly. I look forward to discovering just how far the two of you can go." With a small bow in farewell, she turned away and started off across the fields.

~o~

Tidus had called it what it was - the Moonflow. Yuna described it to be a singular piece of the wonder that was Spira. Even Wakka and Lulu deemed it a blessing of Yevon.

Yusuke looked at it, and words failed him.

It was a great river, the surface of its clear waters reflecting the grey-blue melancholy of dusk. Lily pads were scattered across its surface, most bearing pale purple lilies which attracted drifting wisps of shimmering, multi-colored smoke. The ethereal will-o'-the-wisps floated about, seeming to kiss the hearts of each lily before moving on another. Their ever-shifting colors cast an eerie glow ever the water's surface.

"Pyreflies," Yuna breathed, awestruck. She dropped to her knees on the riverbank; "And moonlilies!"

"It is said that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls," Lulu told her. "The entire river glows, like a sea of stars…"

Such a look of longing washed over the brunette's face then, that it nearly tore at Yusuke's heart to see it. To _not_ be affected by her endearing innocence was an impossibility.

Tidus, smiling gently, approached his sister and lightly clasped her hands in his own. Drawing her to her feet, he ran his fingers through her hair and flicked the silken strands behind her shoulder. "Night is falling already," he reminded. "And the river is wide. There'll be time enough during the crossing to witness your miracle."

Brightening, Yuna nodded. She tugged her hands free of his, lifting them to softly cup his jaw, bringing their foreheads together. Tidus sighed and closed his eyes, unresisting, drawing upon the comfort of her enduring purity.

Wakka reluctantly cleared his throat, gruffly apologizing for the intrusion of their private moment while at the same time reminding they must all hurry if they wished to cross the river before morning. Tidus kissed Yuna's brow and stepped out of his sister's embrace, taking her hand into his as they followed Wakka along the riverbank.

Yusuke stared as they approached the way station, which was manned by a couple of blue-skinned creatures that looked to have been a cross between human and frog. Their limbs were gangly, their feet were webbed, and their large waxy eyes were set to the sides of their heads. Yet they had one trait that made them easily likeable - a pronounced slur, with a particular way of pluralizing every noun as well as two or three verbs.

The tattooed demon quickly discovered how they were to cross the river. A large lift sat upon the back of an odd-looking pachyderm. Tidus caught him staring, moving to stand at his side. "It's a shoopuf," the blond told him. "The best and safest way to cross the Moonflow. Without it, the road would take us four days out of our path before we could find waters shallow enough to wade through." But then he turned his head, eyes widening a fraction. "Auron…"

Yusuke turned, watching as the red-robed warrior approached them, a strange glint in his good eye. "Ten years ago," he spoke, his gruff voice thick with remembrance, "Jecht saw his first shoopuf here. He drew his blade and struck it."

A number of emotions flitted over Tidus' face, until finally curiosity seemed to win out over the rest. "Why?"

"He was drunk," Auron shrugged, as though it was old news - which, of course, for him it was. "He had never actually seen one before, and thought it was a fiend. Braska offered all the money we had as an apology. And as for Jecht… He never drank again. Though it would seem," he slowly added, shifting his gaze over their shoulders, "that same shoopuf still works here."

Frowning, Yusuke looked again to the blue-grey pachyderm, eyes narrowing as he found a detail he had missed when first looking upon it. An old scar, large enough to have been put there by a sword driven by force, marred the creature's right hind leg.

Wakka had paid one of the blue-skinned frog men - "_Hypello,_" Tidus whispered near Yusuke's ear - and it wasn't long at all before they were boarded into the lift and drifting out into the water. The shoopuf slowly sank until only its back and its head were exposed, though their Hypello driver declared that the river was as deep as a small ocean.

After some minutes of drifting along, Wakka caught Yusuke's attention and nodded toward the water. "Take a look."

The dark youth turned and gazed down over the wall of the lift, and his fierce brown eyes stared at the secret hidden within the shadowy depths of the river. For there, silent and ominously majestic, stood the ruins of a great city.

"A machina city," Wakka explained, as though in answer to an unspoken question. "A thousand years old. They built the city on bridges across the river."

"But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse," Lulu put in, "and it all sank to the bottom."

"History," the former blitzball captain intoned, "writes this as a warning not to defy the laws of nature. Yevon has taught us: When humans have power, they seek to use it. If they aren't stopped, they go too far, ya?"

Yusuke nodded, seriously. The memory of such doings still hit close to home for him.

"This city," Lulu spoke again, "and Operation Mi'ihen… are prime examples of the misuse of forbidden machina. I will not go so far as to say that all machina are tainted. For example, the blitzball stadium in Luca. But Yevon despises when they are used toward death and destruction. His forbiddance is absolute."

"Or war will wage again."

Yusuke turned his head, staring at Tidus. The blond, sitting in the far end of the lift with Yuna curled up at his side, returned the tattooed demon's stare with a look of pained sobriety. "More than a thousand years ago," he murmured, solemnly breaking the hush that seemed to have fallen over the lift, "mankind waged war, using machina to kill. They kept upgrading their machina, and eventually their weapons became so powerful… it was thought they could destroy the entire world."

"The people feared that Spira would be destroyed," Yuna quietly added. "But the war didn't stop."

Yusuke glanced from one to the other, and something in the darkness behind Tidus' fiery blue eyes wrenched the question out of him. "What happened?"

But it was Auron who gruffly answered. "Sin came. It destroyed the cities and their machina."

"The war ended," Tidus confirmed. "And our reward was Sin."


	13. One of Them

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Thirteen - One of Them**

Everyone fell silent, then, as though to speak any more on the subject would be blasphemy. Yusuke's core pulsed within his chest so that the whole of his body ached with the feel of its grief.

Hadn't he given enough of his life in stopping the usurpation of human power?

Water from the river suddenly crashed up against the side of the shoopuf, and the pachyderm shuddered as though something had hit it. Auron and Kimahri leapt to their feet, and Yusuke followed suit, eyes scanning the waters even as he sent his senses flaring. He could not tell exactly what had disturbed the river, but the dark youth's eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on a small tendril of black drifting up to the surface.

Oil…?

The darker threads of his energy whispered ominously, even as his mind immediately made the connection. _Machina._

Yusuke was jarred from his morbid suspicion by the sound of Yuna's sudden scream. He spun around, but only in time to watch as Tidus was yanked over the side of the lift and dragged into the water. His senses felt a brief echo of Tidus' panicked outrage, and his core reacted strongly. Without a second thought, he blurred forth and dove headfirst into the river.

The water grew dark very fast, the deeper he went, but Yusuke didn't need to see where he was going. He swam down and down, his body almost vertical as he followed the taste of fear underlying Tidus' indignity at having been caught. His senses pulsed often in warning as he ventured further into the black depths, and he weaved his body to the left or right to avoid the ruins of the sunken city.

At last, the darkness was broken. A light shone some distance ahead of him, growing in size as he drew near, its pale glow slicing across his face and chest. Yusuke paused, floating weightlessly, clenching his teeth together to prevent the urge to waste his air on a cutting profanity.

Tidus shouted at him, calling, his voice silent within the glass dome which held him captive. He was throwing his fists against the curved glass; the dome shook with the force of his efforts to free himself, but remained strongly intact. Yet the fear in his aura was no longer for himself, but for Yusuke.

The tattooed demon did not have to wonder why. Attached to the bottom of the glass dome was the source of the trace of oil he had glimpsed minutes before - a large machina. Yusuke recognized it to be the one he had demolished in Luca, but with a few obvious alterations. The dome, first and foremost, as well as a number of limbs for underwater mobility.

The dark youth also remembered how he had won out over that thing. But water was a dangerous conductor for so much unbridled electricity.

The effort of holding his breath for so long, added to the pressure of swimming so deep, was finally causing his lungs to burn in protest. He knew he had to finish this quickly. Unleashing the very tiniest thread of his energy, he let his eyes fill with power as he returned his gaze to Tidus. The blond grew still as Yusuke captured his attention, and the dark youth drew his focus tight as he sent the thread of his energy forth.

_Brace yourself!_

Tidus stared for a moment, but then quickly nodded and began taking deep breaths to prepare. Letting just a trickle more of his energy rush along his veins, Yusuke stretched out until he was floating on his stomach and brought his hands together over his head. Then he began to twist and roll his body, gathering speed as he turned over and over like the rolls of a corkscrew. The next instant, he shot forth like a bullet, the water pushing back from him in waves as he cut through its resistance.

He felt rather than heard the explosion as he punctured the machina, but he ignored it in favor of searching for and finding Tidus, who was floating freely amongst the shattered remains of the glass dome that had imprisoned him. The blond's eyes were squeezed shut, and he had covered his mouth and nose with one hand.

Yusuke swam forth and gathered the blond in his arms. Tidus' aura whispered in instant recognition and trust, and he shifted against Yusuke's chest then became motionless so as not to complicate the dark youth's next move. The tattooed demon let loose one more burst of his energy, launching them together in a blur toward the surface.

Yet the depths of the Moonflow were every bit as endless as the Hypello had warned. Tidus' fear was slowly returning as his human lungs began to demand another breath of air, and the blond fisted the front of Yusuke's tunic with his free hand in a silent plea. The dark youth leaked more of his energy toward a greater burst of speed.

Yusuke could see the surface high above them, but it was still a great distance away. The hand fisting his tunic tugged, and he glanced down to find that, despite Tidus' valiant effort, tiny bubbles of precious air were escaping the blond's hold. Mentally swearing, Yusuke pushed another thread of his power forth: _Move your hand._

Tidus squinted up at him, but the water rushing around them was too much for his eyes and he quickly closed them again. But his trust in the dark youth seemed limitless, for his hand moved away from his mouth and nose and slipped under Yusuke's shoulder to grip the back of the tattooed demon's tunic. Yusuke lowered his head and covered Tidus' mouth with his own. The blond tensed at first, but then seemed to catch on, parting his lips just a bit under Yusuke's mouth so that the dark youth could share his air between them.

Yusuke lifted his head away seconds before they broke the surface, stretching a hand up to catch the side of the shoopuf's lift. Hands grabbed his wrist and arm, and he braced his feet against the shoopuf to heave himself up. Tidus shifted against him, and he looked up to find that Auron was helping to pull the blond summoner into the lift, while Wakka was busy doing the same for Yusuke.

They finally tumbled into the lift, Yusuke coughing as his ribs hit the lift's floor. Wakka braced his shoulders, and the moment he was sitting upright the dark youth lifted his fierce brown gaze in search of Tidus. The blond summoner was slouching weakly in his seat, gasping, with Yuna ignoring his soaked clothes to cling to his side while Auron methodically checked him over.

"You okay, brudda?"

Shaking the water from his wild hair, Yusuke looked up, managing a crooked smirk for Wakka. "I think you asked me that once before…"

The redhead gave a surprised chuckle, helping Yusuke up from the lift's floor to sit in a seat instead.

The Hypello driver turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Ish everiby-bodies safesish now?"

"Yes," Auron gruffly called out. "But we'd appreciate it if you could get us across the Moonflow in more of a hurry."

"All rightshen." And the swimming shoopuf began to take on some speed.

~o~

They stayed the night at the Moonflow's opposite way station, with Auron and Yusuke keeping constant watch over their camp. The road they took the next morning followed close by the riverbank for quite some distance before weaving toward a mossy green forest. Yusuke, feeling a touch of paranoia now after yesterday's sneak attack, scouted several paces ahead of the rest of their entourage.

That was how he became the first to discover her. A small-framed human woman, resting on the grass with her shoulders braced between the roots of a tree. Yusuke came cautiously closer, and he found that she was still asleep. She wore an orange sleeveless tee of some soft but durable material, and shorts of green denim. A small metal bracket bearing a leather pouch embraced her right thigh, and she also wore black fingerless gloves, one of which with metal claws over its knuckles. Her blonde hair was tied up in a short but wild ponytail, with two long thin braids trailing from behind her neck (these, he only saw because they were currently pulled forward over her shoulders).

She looked to be very young, barely more than a teenager. And though Yusuke sensed no darkness in her aura, he clenched his teeth in a silent snarl as his eyes fell upon the goggles strung around her neck.

The girl chose that moment to wake up, blinking her eyes open, and she sucked in a quick gasp when she saw the tattooed demon, cringing further back against the tree. She lifted her head to stare up at him with wide and wary eyes, and Yusuke was surprised to discover that her pupils were actually swirls of black inside those glassy green pools. "_Bmayca_," she whispered in a strange tongue, though Yusuke did not need to understand her to know she was pleading with him.

"Tell me why you did it," he demanded, a low growl escaping his control. "Why did you try to take one of our summoners?"

Her eyes widened further, but all of a sudden she seemed to abandon her fear of him. Taking a slow breath, she pushed against the tree and stood. And her strange, swirled eyes boldly met his as she replied very clearly, "To protect him."

He stared, taken aback by the mysterious sincerity behind her words.

"Yusuke!"

He cocked his head a little toward the calling of his name, but did not take his eyes off the girl. Her eyes turned pleading again as the racing footsteps of his companions drew near and, thinking she was going to run, the dark youth shifted closer and crouched low in warning.

Yet she did not try to edge away, instead quickly whispering, "Please don't tell them."

"And why not?" He hissed.

"Because I'm not the only Al Bhed looking for summoners."

The footfalls of his companions all came to a thundering halt behind him, and he could hear the shocked mutterings of one or two as they realized what he had cornered. Then one set of footsteps came slowly forward.

"Stand down, Yusuke," Tidus requested. "Please."

The tattooed demon hesitated; "You sure?"

"Yes. She is not our enemy."

Blinking, Yusuke finally straightened out of his crouch and took his eyes off the Al Bhed to stare as the blond confidently approached the girl. Tidus lightly grasped her wrist and led her away from their entourage, where they were joined by Yuna. The three started to speak in low whispering tones, and even Yusuke's sharpened ears could only pick out the words _Cid_, _sanctum_, and _sacrifice_. Yuna and Tidus seemed to be trying to convince the Al Bhed of something, while the girl was stubbornly arguing against every other sentence.

The minutes passed, and Wakka's curiosity was like a tangible force when at last they rejoined the others. Yuna was holding her brother's hand, and Tidus had taken hold of the Al Bhed's wrist once more as the three approached Auron.

The girl could barely look up to meet the red-robed warrior's gaze, while Tidus firmly declared, "We wish Rikku to join our pilgrimage. Would you swear her into guardianship, like you did for Yusuke?"

Auron quirked his eyebrow, giving the Al Bhed a long, studious look before stepping very close. "Show me your face," he instructed in that low, gruff voice of his. When the girl shied away, he persisted, "Look at me."

Yusuke almost regretted his initial attitude toward the girl; truly, she didn't have one evil bone in her body. Even knowing what she had tried to do, he sensed nothing but light and innocence in her aura.

The girl drew in a deep breath, seeming to brace herself for Auron's judgment before slowly lifting her head.

The older warrior's mouth quirked in quiet amusement; "Open your eyes."

Another moment passed, and then he was carefully studying her glass-green orbs. Whatever he saw in her strange, swirled pupils seemed to draw upon his particular interest, for he briefly cut a glance across the clearing to Yusuke. "I see," he softly muttered, thoughtfully. Returning his attention to the girl, he asked her, "And you're sure this is what you want?"

"Yes," she gasped, seeming to draw courage from the fact that he hadn't refused her on the spot.

"You realize you must bind yourself to the Fayth to do so, and that by breaking their trust you will forever be branded by your blasphemy."

Yet the girl didn't appear intimidated by that possibility, and Yusuke remembered what the Al Bhed Rin had said of his race - that they were already endlessly condemned by all the peoples of Spira.

"I won't turn back," she firmly declared.

Auron's mouth finally tugged in a small smile. "Then you will need to swear the Oath; that you will protect your summoner, against all opposition. Can you do that?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I swear to protect my summoners, at every cost."

As the other guardians stepped forward to welcome their new companion, Yusuke found himself wondering at the irony. Wakka seemed especially welcoming, considering his open hatred for the Al Bhed race - it never seemed to cross the redhead's mind that this girl was one of them.


	14. All They Are

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Fourteen - All They Are**

As they started out again, the girl dropped back behind the others, where Yusuke had reclaimed his post to guard the rear of their entourage. Her strangely swirled eyes glanced almost shyly at him as she whispered, "I'm sorry… that you're not ready to trust me yet."

"I never said that," he hissed distractedly, his own eyes scanning the shadows in the branches overhead. "Tidus and Yuna said to give you a chance. That's good enough for me."

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Even after what you know I tried to do?"

He spared her a glance, his gaze lingering for a second or two before returning to his vigil of their surroundings. "I'm a pretty good judge of character. I can't say I understand what it was you were trying to pull, but I know you're not the enemy."

"What's your name?"

"Yusuke."

"I'm Rikku," she smiled.

He smirked, "Yeah, I heard."

"And you're a guardian?"

"Looks like."

"But you don't have any weapons."

He let out a short bark of a laugh. "You _were_ payin' attention when we met, right?" He asked, rhetorically, as it had been barely twenty minutes ago. "When you first looked at me, did it look as if I'd need a weapon to take you down?"

"Honestly," she ventured, hesitantly, "I thought a fiend had found me…"

"I'm gettin' that a lot," Yusuke shrugged, smirking just enough to bare his fangs. "Don't think I don't use it to my advantage."

The petite Al Bhed chewed nervously at her lip; "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I know," he smirked again. He nodded toward the pouch bracketed to her thigh; "What've you got in there, anyway?"

She brightened immediately. Without missing a step in her stride, she popped open the pouch's flap and plunged her fist into its depths. She brought her hand out again an instant later, holding up something small and spherical that could easily have been engulfed in her delicate fist.

Yusuke regarded it cautiously. "Why do I get the feeling that thing's not nearly as friendly as it looks?"

"It's a grenade," Rikku giggled. "You know we Al Bhed are infamous for our machina, right? Well, with this you get the same basic principle. Don't let its size fool you, though - I could torch this whole forest with just seven of these." She kissed it fondly, returning it to her pouch and sealing it away.

"And you're not worried about blowing your leg off?" Yusuke asked, skeptical.

"I handmade each one, myself," she revealed, surprising him. "And I'm very thorough at what I do - I'm the best. Having them knock around in my pouch is about as safe as riding a well-trained chocobo."

"If you say so…"

"I'm also pretty good at experimenting with them, to get different results. Fire bomb, flash bomb, that sort of thing," she added, almost humbly.

He quirked his eyebrow, giving her another once-over. "You're gonna come in handy, aren't you."

"I'll try," she answered with a shy smile.

~o~

The farther into the forest the road led, the thicker the forest grew. Even Yusuke could not see the end of it. What he did eventually spy in the distance was a clump of twisting trees encircling a glistening clearing, and to the other side of that clearing stood a shadowy cave's entrance.

"We're going in _there_?" Rikku wondered, her voice pitching high as she stared at the mouth of the cave.

"It's the only way into Guadosalam," replied Lulu. Catching Yusuke's look, she filled in, "Home of the Guado, and gateway to the Farplane."

The tattooed demon's eyes sharpened, "The Farplane?"

"It's where the living can visit upon the souls of the departed," Auron gruffly answered, leading the way in.

Though he suspected that was not meant literally, Yusuke nonetheless drew his energy in tight before he followed the others into the large cave.

Its hollowed caverns were softly illuminated by some kind of natural lighting that gave everything the tiniest bit of green-blue glow. Its interior was walled by petrified trees that seemed somehow fused together to make one solid surface; some had even been carved into and given doors, hinting of a settlement of simple comforts.

There was even a few of what Yusuke knew now to identify as Guado walking about and mingling along suspended pathways. One Guado in particular, an older one with an aging posture, noticed their entourage's arrival. He approached them, a small smile on his tired old face. "We have been expecting you, Lady Yuna. And, of course, your brother," he added, with a nod to Tidus in respectful greeting. "Welcome to Guadosalam. Follow me, please."

He reached out with a hand toward Yuna's arm. Yusuke immediately stepped forth, and Wakka held out his own arm to block the Guado's action. "Whoa there," the redhead warned.

"Ah… my apologies," the Guado insisted, pulling his hand away. "I am called Tromell. I am in the service of our leader Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Her Ladyship."

"Business?" Yuna wondered. "With me?"

"Please, come inside the manor," he invited, motioning with his arm toward a pair of great double doors at the far back of the cave. "All will be explained. Of course, your brother and guardians are also welcome." And he turned away, seeming confident that they would follow.

Auron narrowed his good eye in obvious distrust, and he took the lead. Yusuke let the others pass him, taking the rear. But Rikku held back as well, and she whispered aside to the tattooed demon, "Twist our arms, why don't they…"

He gave a hard smirk, not about to argue. This felt very wrong, especially because Seymour would be involved. He was only glad he knew Tidus and Auron shared his suspicion.

They entered the manor, into what Yusuke suspected was the lesser hall. Tromell bade them to wait there, himself passing through another pair of double doors across the room. After a few minutes of standing about doing nothing, Lulu motioned for Yusuke to follow her. She led partway up one of the staircases braced against the curved walls, pausing before a line of luminescent green paintings.

"These," she said, "are the past leaders of the Guado."

Yusuke glanced at the paintings, but did not pretend that the information mattered to him in the slightest. "They look the same…" But then his gaze fell on one painting in particular, and his eyes narrowed.

"Right up until Maester Seymour," Lulu nodded, as though reading his mind. Turning, she motioned toward the opposite staircase, where there hung another line of paintings. Yusuke stepped closer to her side, lining up his sight with her pointing finger; "The last leader, Maester Jyscal, wed a human woman. She was Seymour's mother."

Yusuke bit back the urge to utter a torrid profanity. _Seymour had human blood in him?_ For the very first time in his extended life, the dark youth felt almost ashamed to be a half-breed.

"There is no temple here in Guadosalam," Lulu spoke again, unaware of the sickened feeling churning in his stomach. "Summoners usually just pass through on their way elsewhere."

The doors opened then, and Auron led them all into another hall. This one was not much larger than the last, but it was filled almost to the brim with vase after vase of flowers, and a table in the center of the room was laden with fresh fruit. Rikku immediately helped herself. Yusuke was about to follow after her, thinking none of their group should be alone in this place, but Auron quickly caught his arm, stalling him.

The older warrior gave him a dark, significant look. "You're on your guard?"

Baring his fangs in a dangerous smirk, he nodded. Auron held his gaze for a moment longer, but then released his arm. Yusuke's smirk grew less feral as he invited himself at Rikku's side before the table.

The pretty little blonde giggled under her breath, capturing his full attention as he drew near. "Look at this," she whispered, lifting up a small brown fruit. "It's got hair!"

Yusuke could not help himself. He laughed. "It's a kiwi. Here," he offered, taking the fruit from her and using his claws to swiftly peel its skin, revealing the very juicy green insides. Tearing the fruit in half, he passed one piece back to her. "Go on, try it," he urged, popping his own piece into his mouth whole.

Her swirled green eyes cut to him in mock suspicion as she mimicked him, but then they gleamed with excited discovery. "Oh, wow…"

He laughed again under his breath, licking the juices from his fingers with another smirk when he caught her looking about for more. But then a door to the far side of the room opened, and Yusuke's fun was immediately spoiled.

It was Seymour. He approached their group calmly, casually… but the tattooed demon saw in the Guado's movements an underlying sense of purpose. He truly _was_ up to something.

Yusuke sensed movement behind him, seconds before Auron stepped around him to join Kimahri in flanking their summoners. Wakka and Lulu exchanged a look, and suddenly they appeared more alert as well. Yusuke carefully reached an arm back, lightly grasping Rikku's wrist. He heard her very soft intake of breath, and she shifted closer to his side. "What's wrong?" She breathed near his ear.

"Stay close to me," he hissed, never letting his eyes stray from the Guado as he released her wrist. "And don't let your guard down."

From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed her turning her head just a little to glance at him. "Why?"

"I trust you," Yusuke reminded as Seymour drew near. "I _don't_ trust _him_."

"Welcome," Seymour greeted, spreading his arms wide with a small smile. "I can't tell you how pleased I was to receive Tromell's news that you'd arrived."

Yuna stepped forward, and Tidus shadowed her. The eyes of their guardians followed them with every precaution. "You wanted to see me?" Yuna shyly wondered.

"I did, indeed," said Seymour. "But please, make yourselves at home. There's no need to rush through anything."

"I'm afraid the rest of us will have to disagree," Auron spoke up. "We're in the midst of their pilgrimage, after all."

Seymour's smile lost some of its venomous charm. "Ah, pardon me. Of course, how could I have forgotten?" Shaking his head, he turned again to Yuna. "In that case, my lady, please allow me to get right down to it. I requested to see you, because there is something I would like very much to show you." He lifted a hand, revealing a small contraption that looked like some kind of handheld switch.

The lights overhead flashed for just a moment, before the entire room was engulfed in darkness. The next instant, the walls were alight with glimmering stars, countless in number, and ghostly meteors and pyreflies passed right through them as they glided from one end of the room to another. It was a very convincing illusion, giving the feel of standing in the midst of space.

Then the illusion shifted and changed, and see-through images of tall buildings and bustling streets surrounded them. It was a very lively city, with glowing laser signs and the afterimages of people crossing the streets in every direction. And then, as the illusion swept around them in a way that made it seem as though they were passing under bridges, Seymour spoke:

"This sphere is a reconstruction of the thoughts of the dead who wander the Farplane. What you see before you is the ancient machina city, Zanarkand - as it was one thousand years ago…"

Yusuke watched as Tidus turned his flame blue eyes to stare at the Guado; Yuna let out a soft gasp, lifting a hand to her mouth as they both continued to stare around them.

"She once lived in this metropolis," Seymour added, almost under his breath.

Yuna's expression grew curious as she turned to him. "She, who?"

Seymour smiled, just as the illusion shifted again to reveal a vision of someone's private quarters. There, in the center of the room, stood a large four-poster bed. And sitting upon the edge of its mattress was a scantily-clad young woman with long, remarkably white hair.

Tidus' beloved twin drew in a quick breath and grasped her brother's arm. "Lady Yunalesca…!"

"She was the very first to defeat Sin and save the world from its ravages," Seymour answered. He turned to offer Yuna a knowing smile, "And _you_ have inherited her name."

"It was our father who named me," she confessed, suddenly shy again.

He nodded; "Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task. He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Yunalesca did. However," he added, as though in reminder. "Lady Yunalesca did not save the world alone…"

As though on cue, a regally armored man entered the vision, his ghostly image joining the woman by the bed and wordlessly pulling her to her feet. They stood close together, their arms wrapping around each other, their foreheads touching as though leaning on one another for support. It was painfully obvious how deeply they cared for each other, almost as though one could not survive without the other…

The resemblance was uncanny. Yusuke's demon core tightened, and he had to drag in a great hiss of breath to ease its ache.

The illusion began to cloud over and fade. Maester Seymour stepped over to the twin summoners; he leaned close to whisper something near Yuna's ear. Whatever he said was so softly spoken that even Yusuke's sharp ears could not pick it out, but he watched as Yuna drew back with another quick gasp, and as Tidus stared at the Guado with stark surprise in his fiery blue eyes.

The last of the vision faded at last, and they were standing again in the dining hall. Seymour had put a respectable bit of space between himself and the two summoners. Lulu and Wakka and Kimahri gathered close, perhaps finally noticing the expression on the twins' faces. Tidus glanced over their shoulders, tossing Yusuke a long glance, and the tattooed demon's darker energy whispered in ominous precognition.

Yuna at last found breath enough to speak, though her voice came out as little more than a murmur as she announced, "H-he asked me to marry him…"

Their companions all stared in surprise; Auron narrowed his good eye and turned to Seymour. "You know what they must do."

"Of course," the Guado calmly confirmed. "Lady Yuna and Lord Tidus - _all_ summoners - are charged with bringing peace to the world. But this means more than just defeating Sin. They must ease the suffering of all Spira. They must be as leaders for the people." His mouth quirked in a small smile, "I proposed to Lady Yuna as a maester of Yevon."

"Spira is no playhouse," Auron argued, stepping forth to stand before the half-blooded Guado. "A moment's diversion may amuse an audience, but it changes nothing."

"Even so, the actors must play their parts." Seymour shifted his gaze, returning his attention to the two summoners… specifically to Yuna. "There's no need to answer right away. Please, think it over."

~o~

Yusuke's anger and suspicion boiled within his core as he followed his companions under one of the bridges of Guadosalam. He knew there must be some darker purpose behind Seymour's proposal but, as Tidus had lamented after the disaster of Operation Mi'ihen, Yusuke also knew it was not his place to say anything. And he _really_ wanted to say something.

Clenching his jaw as they gathered around their two summoners, he tried to focus as Lulu mused aloud, "Yuna, the High Summoner's daughter… and Seymour, the leader of the Guado. Married in the name of Yevon, overcoming the barriers of race…" She sighed, "I suppose it _would_ give Spira something cheery to talk about…"

_Yeah, __**right**__,_ Yusuke seethed silently.

"Sounds just like a passing daydream, if you ask me," Wakka shook his head. "He sure picked a fine time to lay this one on us."

"Maybe it _is_ a fine time…"

Blinking, Yusuke turned his head to stare at Yuna, and he wasn't the only one. Tidus gave his sister a quietly solemn look and reached to grasp her hand in his. She offered a brave smile; "If my getting married would help Spira… if it would make people happy… Maybe I should do what I can."

Tidus' eyes grew pained and saddened. "Yuna…"

She lifted her free hand to the side of his head, passing her fingers through the blond strands of her brother's hair. Tidus swallowed a choked breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head into her touch. Her smile softened. "I never imagined doing anything like this. But, I won't answer until I know what's right."

"Are you sure?" Auron softly asked, his gruff voice unusually gentled.

"Yes," she nodded. "I know this is not a matter to treat lightly." Taking both of Tidus' hands in hers, Yuna stood, pulling her blond twin to his feet as well. "Come with me to the Farplane? I want to see our father and think on this."

And so their entourage followed along one of the bridges into a small tunnel which, toward the end, opened up into a very large chamber. A singular staircase rose up out of the ground, leading to what appeared to be an impossibly large ethereal bubble-like border. Yusuke, sensing its potent aura, checked yet again that his own energy was drawn tight within himself. He suddenly did not trust himself to hold his own against something like this Farplane, which he still suspected had strong connections with the spirit realm he knew so well.

The living had no place in the realm of the dead, after all.

Yet Yuna and Tidus led the way confidently, and they and the others disappeared behind its border. All but Auron and Rikku, who lingered on the stairway. Yusuke, catching up to them, wondered, "What's wrong?"

"There is nothing for me there," the red-robed warrior denied, turning his back on the Farplane and sitting down upon a stair. "And I don't wish to change that."

"You're not really going to see the dead," Rikku explained to the tattooed demon. "More like your memories of them. People think of their loved ones, and the pyreflies react to them and take on the form of the dead person. It's an illusion, like Maester Seymour showed us of Zanarkand and Lady Yunalesca." Giving the ethereal border a cursory glance, she shook her head and turned away. "But I don't want to go up there either. Memories are nice, and everything, but… that's all they are."


	15. Solemn Agreement

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Fifteen - Solemn Agreement**

It was very difficult for Yusuke to put into words his reaction to the Farplane. Within the ethereal border, the staircase opened up into a wide flat platform. This platform hovered over a half-circle of rushing waterfalls which surrounded a vast field of wildflowers. Shimmering pyreflies swarmed both below and above, their clouds trailing wispily in gleaming multitudes of colors.

Yusuke remembered how he had felt in the jungles of Kilika, when first he had set eyes upon the fiery aeon Ifrit. The weight of Ifrit's stare, as though the aeon was carefully picking at and judging his very soul - yet, at the same time, the sense of power and protection from that great-horned beast's aura…

The energies swimming through the Farplane felt very much the same.

Wakka and Lulu were standing off to one side, while Kimahri and Yuna were standing to another. They each seemed to be staring at something Yusuke could not quite see. Some few paces from his beloved sister's side stood Tidus, his flame blue eyes solemnly observing Yuna as she alone debated her decision.

Yusuke quietly joined the blond summoner, who tore his gaze away from his twin with a great sigh. "I don't know how to stop this…"

"You think she's gonna say yes?"

"I know she will," he confirmed, meeting the dark youth's gaze. "Even if she felt nothing for him, still she would do it. She loves Spira that much."

Yusuke finally noticed that Yuna's lips were moving, and he wondered aloud, "Who's she talkin' to?"

"Our mother and father," Tidus replied. But then he paused, glancing again to the tattooed demon. "You can't see them?"

He shook his head, and his core murmured uncertainly as he realized that he probably should have been able to. Why couldn't he? Was it because he had never met Tidus and Yuna's parents, and therefore couldn't envision them? Or was it because Yusuke Urameshi himself was not truly a part of their world?

"I wonder," Tidus mused. His expression was thoughtful and maybe even a little curious. "If _you_ were to call for someone, would you still be unable to see them?"

"Me?" Yusuke repeated. He shook his head again; "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Do demons not wish to remember those they've lost?" Tidus asked, hesitantly, as though afraid he had insulted him.

"It's not that," he gruffly answered. "I mean, yeah, most demons would rather leave the past where it is. Unless revenge or honor are involved," he shrugged. "But I lived as a human first. After I returned to the makai… I knew that, sooner or later, everyone I cared about in the human realm would die. So I kinda… swore to myself that I wouldn't go back. I didn't want to prove myself right."

"You make it sound as if you expect to outlive them all," the blond summoner carefully ventured.

Yusuke's mouth tugged in a hard smirk, one that did not reach his fierce brown eyes. "I have demon blood in me. Kinda comes with the territory."

Tidus' eyes widened slightly. "So… how long _have_ you lived?"

He clenched his jaw for a moment, not really wanting to dwell on the subject. "Long enough to know that Auron should be the one calling _me_ 'old man'…"

"T-then… it could be happening already…?"

The tattooed demon nodded.

Tidus grew quiet for a long minute. Lowering his fiery blue eyes, he turned his head aside. "Yusuke… I acquit you of your guardianship to us…"

He turned, staring. The blond had turned his back to him, staring out over the clouds of pyreflies. Tidus' stance was tense, and his hands had curled into tight fists at his sides. But it was the sharpened taste of pain pooling from his aura that called to Yusuke's demon core, and the dark youth stepped close behind him, folding his arms around the blond's shoulders. Tidus tensed just a little more within his embrace, and the dark youth glimpsed him biting at his lower lip before turning his head further away. "Yusuke…"

"Why?" He whispered, with just a hint of a growl. "_Why?_"

Tidus gave a small shake of his head. "I can't let you see the journey's end. I don't want you to know…"

"Know, what?" When the blond fell silent again without explaining himself, Yusuke pulled his arms back and lightly gripped Tidus by the shoulders, turning him around. Yet Tidus still refused to meet his gaze, and the blond's teeth were biting down on his lip so hard that it looked in danger of bruising.

Yusuke's core gave another uncertain pulse, and he lifted a hand to smooth the pad of his thumb over that lip, coaxing it free. Startled, Tidus looked up at last, and the tattooed demon cussed under his breath upon discovering the traces of liquid crystal brimming those fiery blue eyes. "You don't want me to stay?" He growled, softly.

Tidus shook his head, the movement shaking the first of his tears free.

Yusuke passed his thumb over the blond's cheek, smoothing it away. "But you don't want me to go."

His eyes brimmed again, and Tidus glanced away, reluctantly admitting to that much with another small shake of his head.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be in your world," the dark youth slowly reminded. "I could leave it the way I came in, with no frickin' explanation, even if I never find the exit on my own." He paused, sweeping his hand forth to gently thread his fingers through the feathery strands behind the base of Tidus' neck. "You could be rid of me as easily as that, and you wouldn't even have to try."

"Yusuke…"

"I don't want to leave that way if I can help it," he hissed. When Tidus looked up once more, his expression unguarded and almost vulnerable, Yusuke's fierce brown eyes met his gaze unflinchingly. "I swore to protect you two. I don't like to break my promises. Anyway… Leaving this world will mean never seein' _you_ again. I've been tryin' hard not to think how I'll feel about that…"

He then dropped his hand and drew back until a small bit of space had been replaced between them. Allowing a trickle of his energy loose to bleed the black into his eyes, he met Tidus' gaze and held it, dropping the shields from around his core and letting a shadow of its message break through to the surface for just this one instant.

The blond summoner stood absolutely still, tear-glistened eyes seeming unwilling to break Yusuke's open and vulnerable gaze. Yet when the dark demon made as though to take another step back, Tidus gave a sharp start and reacted immediately, coming forth and catching Yusuke's wrist. His hold was tight and desperate, as though afraid of letting go.

Their gazes met again, the black draining away from the fierce brown of Yusuke's eyes as he searched Tidus' of flaring blue. Hissing a profanity under his breath, the tattooed demon tugged Tidus back into his arms, caging the blond within his embrace and burying his face in the cove of Tidus' neck. The young summoner's arms came up around his back, holding him just as tightly.

~o~

As they were leaving the Farplane, they were met with an unhappy occurrence. A small swarm of the pyreflies seemed to have attached themselves to Yuna, and when she and Tidus turned back, they came together in a cloud of shadows and shifting colors. Yusuke saw only the pyreflies, but his companions all murmured in mournful recognition.

"Maester Jyscal…" Yuna whispered, brokenly.

"He does not belong here," Auron spoke up from further down the stairs. "Send him."

Tidus nodded, lifting a hand before the cloud of pyreflies. His lips moved silently in some incantation or other, and the cloud began to waver under his will.

In the last few seconds, Yusuke was distracted when Auron made a soft noise under his breath, and he turned his head in time to witness as the red-robed guardian sank unsteadily to his knees. Unnoticed by their companions, Yusuke took a small step toward the other warrior. But Auron, seeming to sense the movement, gave a quick shake of his head and pushed himself to his feet once more. He did not look entirely as composed as usual, but he hefted his claymore to his shoulder and stood strongly, seeming determined to forget what had just happened.

Yusuke next heard a small tinkering sound, and he turned again to watch the last of the pyreflies break apart, Tidus' small Sending having done as it was meant to do.

"Talk later," Auron gruffly commanded, halting their companions' aggrieved curiosity. "We leave now."

~o~

Their entourage exited the mystic tunnel, gathering again beneath one of the elevated bridges. Tidus then offered his hand to Yuna and led his beloved twin into the manor to give Seymour her decision. Yusuke watched the other five guardians idle about, and it was clear that they were each struggling to come to terms with what one of their summoners was about to do. The dark youth could easily see how disturbed they were by the whole ordeal, and yet still they were ready to accept and defend it.

The nearly-sacrificial feel of their support twisted foully within Yusuke's stomach.

Growling under his breath, he turned and wandered off alone. There were a number of doors here and there, but he found he had no interest in where they led or what they hid. Instead, he eventually found an ungrounded root and sat down, slouching forward with his elbows on his legs. His skull buzzed and tingled, and he dipped his head lower to rub at the back of his neck.

"Oh, my…"

He looked up. A young woman in simple travel clothes of greens and yellows had paused before him, her light brown eyes wide, her hand to her chest as though caught by surprise. Yusuke, having visited enough temples by now to take an educated guess, thought her to be one of Yevon's acolytes.

He offered a small smirk. "I'm not a fiend."

She seemed to pause, but then the expression on her face smoothed out into one of sympathy and understanding; she dropped her hand and approached him. "My first thought was that you looked rather depressed, and at a loss," she replied kindly.

_She's not put off by the way I look? Wait. She can tell all that just by lookin' at me?_ Yusuke suspected that to mean that he must have been falling apart on the outside as much as he was on the inside. He shrugged and dropped his head once more. "I'm fine."

"Is there perhaps something I can do?" She offered.

"You got any power in politics?" He asked dryly, not bothering to look up again.

She paused, "I'm afraid not…"

Yusuke gave another shrug. He hadn't really thought she might; it was just something he felt needed thrown out in the open. He rubbed again at his neck.

She noticed; "Are you in pain?"

"A little." It wasn't like he could tell her _why_ the back of his skull throbbed.

She grew quiet for a short moment, and then seemed to gather her courage, stepping closer. "I could… I have some small power in healing…"

He blinked, looking up again. He supposed he could've told her that it wasn't that kind of pain, that he was suffering a minor case of energy backlash. But he could guess by her mannerisms what it must've taken for her to even offer that much, and the way she was worrying at her lip hinted that her moment of spontaneous courage was swiftly fleeing. Feeling just a little sorry for her, he offered a gentle smirk and craned his neck to tap just below the base of his skull. "It twinges a bit, right here. If you think you can…"

Her bright and eager smile told him he had made the right decision. She stepped forward - almost daringly close, despite the fangs and markings that usually kept the rest of Spira at bay - and carefully set the palm of one hand to the back of his neck. Her meager magic felt as a pale shadow to Yuna's, but warm and welcome just the same. And when she drew her hand away, Yusuke was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the pressure that he had been fighting had eased off.

He looked up at her once more and smirked. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome," she smiled. "My name is Shelinda."

"Yusuke," he answered. "You here to visit the Farplane, too?"

"Yes, but not for myself. I want to offer my prayers to those who have fallen victim to Sin's most recent attack."

"You mean Operation Mi'ihen?"

She nodded, sadly. "The Crusaders have strayed from the ways of the temples, and the Al Bhed have set themselves so far apart from the rest of the world. But I can't ignore their sacrifice. It brings close to heart the effort they each made to save Spira from a common threat." Shelinda seemed to withdraw into herself and, sighing, she gave a small shake of her head. "It seems an insult now to continue using such labels as 'Crusaders' and 'Al Bhed'. Why can't we each and every one of us call ourselves simply… the people of Spira?"

Yusuke nodded his solemn agreement.


	16. Glass Bauble

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Sixteen - Glass Bauble**

It was soon discovered that while their entourage had paid their own visit to the Farplane, Seymour Guado had decided to excuse himself to the temple of Macalania. Auron informed everyone that the only route to be taken from their current position was through the Thunder Plains. Rikku did not take this bit of news eagerly. It seemed she had an almost paralyzing fear of thunder and lightning.

Yusuke wasn't too happy, himself. And the farther they stepped along the tunnel which would open out into said plains, the worse he felt. The muscles in his neck began to stiffen, his spine ached… His feet began to drag, his legs growing tired and sore…

Rikku tentatively touched a hand to his arm, her swirled eyes looking at him with concern. "Hey. A-are you okay?"

Yusuke flinched from under her touch, not trusting himself to keep from hurting her. Peeling back his lips, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Kimahri…"

The blue feline must have heard him, for he was there in an instant, silently pulling Rikku away and toward the others before taking an almost protective position at Yusuke's side. Yusuke glanced up at him, letting Kimahri peek at the pools of black his eyes had become before swiftly closing them and turning his head away.

Somewhere up ahead, Auron must have caught on as well. Yusuke could hear the red-robed warrior sharply ordering the others to keep moving along the barely discernable road worn through the plains. The feel of Auron's strange aura went with them, effectively putting some distance between them and the unpredictability of Yusuke's current state. But one aura lingered despite Auron's efforts.

Yusuke's demon core clenched tightly within his chest, and he pressed closer to Kimahri's side. "Tidus," he groaned, hearing the hint of power already slipping into his own voice. "Go…"

"I'll stay," the blond calmly argued.

Lightning cracked high overhead; Yusuke's spine arched, and he thrashed his head, hissing through clenched teeth as he felt the backlash of such powerful energy roll over him. Breathing hard, he tried to warn again, "I d-don't want you to get hurt…"

"I'm not afraid." Tidus' aura shifted daringly closer, and Yusuke felt the briefest touch of the blond's hand to his shoulder before it slipped away once more. "I trust you."

Yusuke's demon core keened in response, and he peered up to find eyes like blue fire watching him with pained understanding. When he inched forward, Kimahri shifting beside him guardedly, the blond nodded quietly and moved back a step or two.

It was a slow process, perhaps even overly cautious. Tidus led the way, his eyes never leaving Yusuke, who hesitantly followed; Kimahri easily kept up with them, diligently guarding the both of them even while his own gaze constantly scanned their surroundings for fiend activity. Every several paces Yusuke would pause, cringing as his darker energy rolled over him. His claws would dig into the ground, and his breathing would come in quick heavy gasps as he fought to maintain some semblance of control. Tidus and Kimahri would wait, their eyes never leaving him, and after a long moment or two they would start up again.

They arrived at last before a small shop centered in the midst of the plains, perhaps an hour after the rest of their entourage. They paused, and Tidus' flame blue eyes turned to Yusuke. The dark youth tried to bite back yet another groan, yet was unable to prevent it from slipping out in the form of a reluctant whimper instead. "Go on," the blond summoner softly encouraged. "Let it go…"

Yusuke's energy-blackened eyes rolled back, and in the back of his mind he felt Raizen reject the foreign power that had absorbed into him, helping him release it with a soundless explosion of darkness. A dome of energy pulsed around him, the backlash spreading out in a wave that shook the earth beneath their feet, throwing back blue ash and stone. Lightning flashed once more overhead, followed by a booming crack of thunder.

Breathing heavily, the tattooed demon felt his knees buckle, and he collapsed exhausted to the ground, the world around him swallowing him in black.

~o~

_He remained aware of himself this time, watching in weary trepidation as tendrils of shadow drifted all around him, like ink in water. And he floated weightlessly in their midst, a strange sense of numbness trickling along his veins, and even his demon core felt strangely at peace… despite all it had suffered through._

_As before, a single tendril of shadow thickened and shifted, even as it grew corporeal and took shape. The mysterious boy his vision had shown him last time seemed again to stare at Yusuke under the shadow of his vest's hood._

_The boy's mouth quirked in that same saddened smile, small lips parting as though to speak. Yusuke's breath hitched, and his core remembered itself, tightening desperately._

_**Demon, you must not fail me.**_

_An endless number of questions plagued the dark youth's mind, but they were gone again before he could pin them down with words._

_**He destroys himself. You must stop him.**_

_Yusuke at last found his voice, but it was little more than a whispering echo in that vast void of shadows. "How?"_

_The boy slowly shook his head, even as his form wavered as the vast void of shadows faded into white…_

~o~

When Yusuke next opened his eyes, it was to clear starry skies beyond glittering silver branches and flickers of shimmering dust. His skull no longer throbbed, and the ache was gone from his spine. As before, he found himself lying on his back on the ground. The air around him was unusually peaceful and still; pushing up on his elbows, he discovered that his companions had stopped somewhere to camp and were all sleeping around a cheery campfire.

"You're awake?"

His demon core pulsed, and the dark youth turned his head. Sitting up, he met Tidus' unwavering gaze. The blond summoner's face was half lit from the yellow firelight, half illuminated by the strange natural glow of the shimmering trees surrounding them… Yet the gleam in those fiery blue eyes was all his own, and for the moment focused solely on Yusuke. Quietly, almost soundlessly, Tidus straightened to his feet. With a seemingly practiced care, he stepped over and around their slumbering companions, sitting down again at the tattooed demon's side. "Don't worry," he whispered. "The Thunder Plains are quite a number of miles behind us now."

Tension Yusuke did not realize he'd still felt eased finally from his muscles. Cautiously, he loosed a trickle of his still-exhausted energy - feeling, tasting the air around them, before letting it settle again beneath his skin and making himself _aware_ once more.

Sighing, he turned again to the blond at his side. "How long was I out?"

"The rest of the day, as you can probably guess, and through the night. It's nearly dawn." Tidus' eyes grew concerned. "Was it so much worse, this time?"

Yusuke returned the blond's gaze for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"Because your senses are that much more sensitive than ours?"

"That's a part of it," he admitted.

Tidus tilted his head, seeming to consider Yusuke for a brief moment. "I remember what you said the last time about 'older energy,' and 'animalistic instincts.' Was another part of the reason it was so difficult for you this time because there was nothing to hunt?"

Yusuke swore under his breath. He bit back the urge to explain that it was no longer about the hunt, not anymore, not _here_. In this world, the imprint of Raizen's energy had but one thought, and one thought alone: _Defend your mate._

Never mind that Tidus could never know, would never be his.

The truest reason it had been so different that last time - so difficult - was because the greatest danger at the time had been _himself_. Carefully, reluctantly, the tattooed demon confessed to that much, at least.

The blond's eyes widened with dawning understanding. Yet he reached forth, setting a hand to Yusuke's arm, startling the dark youth into meeting his gaze once more. "I don't know if you remember this," Tidus began, barely above a whisper. "But you never once made a move to attack us. You even scared off an imp that had tried to catch Kimahri off-guard."

Yusuke's brows came together in a disbelieving frown. "I did?"

He offered a small smile, and he looked about to say more. But then a small sound, like the mewing of a kitten, reached their ears and they both turned their heads. Some few paces away, bathed in the soft mixture of the fire's light and the forest's strange glow, Yuna gave another small whisper of a whimper and fretted in her sleep. The two watched on as she shifted in apparent discomfort, rolled her head to the side, and then was still once more.

Tidus' flame blue eyes were shadowed with some internal pain as he turned back to the firelight. He stared intently into the fire for a long minute before suddenly dropping his head to his hands with what sounded to Yusuke like a sigh of defeat.

The tattooed demon's core clenched tightly within his chest in ominous warning, and he knew he had missed out on something incredibly vital. And, thinking back on the last major development he had been conscious enough to witness, it did not take much effort to figure it out. _Gods, I hope I'm wrong…_ "What happened?"

"She said yes…"

His lungs almost literally froze, his chest felt that cold. "What?"

"Yusuke." Lifting his head, the blond summoner met and held his gaze. "She's going to accept Seymour's proposal. My sister… is going to marry."

"She's really gonna go through with it?" Yusuke fought a sudden taste of bile back down his throat. "When did she decide that?"

"Shortly after we rested at an Al Bhed shop, midway through the plains," Tidus sighed. "And, just as I feared, there isn't a single thing I can do to sway her."

"Can I just say something?"

He gave an inquisitive tilt of his head.

"Seymour is one goddamned manipulative son of a bitch," Yusuke growled, "and I _really_ wish I'd met him in my world, on _my_ terms, where I could tear into him without a thought and not lose sleep over it."

Tidus was quiet for a long minute, before the tiniest quirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That's… oddly satisfying to hear…" And then he bit at his lower lip, as though biting back a stronger, truer smile. "I think I like knowing what you would do, if you could."

Yusuke tossed him a darkly significant look. "I _can_." Pausing, he glanced away and once more toward the fire. "You know there's only one thing standing in my way…"

There was another moment's silence, before the blond's whispered response reached his ears:

"I know."

~o~

Midmorning found them following another trail through the glittering forest, when suddenly the sound of rushing footsteps approaching them from behind. Turning back, they all watched as Barthello came running up to them, looking somewhat in a panic. He was alone.

Yusuke sucked in an inaudible breath, glancing to the petite little blond standing at his side. Rikku met his glance and gave a minute shake of her head, mouthing, _Wasn't me._

"Is something wrong?" Yuna wondered in gentle concern.

Her brother's concern was a tad bit sharper. "Where's Dona?"

"We were separated," the muscleman guardian grunted, catching his breath. "Something jumped me, and when I came to, she was gone."

Wakka and Lulu shared a glance now, while Kimahri hefted his spear a little more at the ready as he searched the trees around them. Auron stepped forward. "We haven't seen her."

Barthello's face fell with vast disappointment.

"We'd been warned about this," the older guardian went on to inform him. "Yours is not the first summoner to go missing. If nothing else, this should reassure you that what is happening is through no fault of your own. There is a conspiracy here. Something - some_one_ is preventing summoners from completing their pilgrimages."

Yusuke blinked. Was that what was going on? But… wasn't the whole point of a summoner's training to travel the world and gain the power to vanquish Sin? Wasn't that what everyone wanted?

_Now I __**know**__ I'm missing something…_

The expression on Barthello's face shifted from defeated, to determined. "Then I'll find her. Wherever she is, that's where they put the others."

"Would you accept our assistance?"

"No," the younger guardian shook his head. "Thank you. But you have your own summoners to look after," he insisted, his gaze shifting to include Tidus and Yuna. He looked again to Auron. "With so many of you guarding them, you might complete your pilgrimage without this kind of trouble. I don't dare distract you."

"Very well," Auron nodded. "Good luck to you."

~o~

They were nearing the edge of the forest. Yusuke could pick out strips of white sky in the distance, and the temperature was beginning to drop dramatically. Tiny flakes of snow had managed to navigate through the overhead branches to drift waywardly toward the ground far below.

Auron paused before a large tree which had fallen over. Beyond the tree, Yusuke could glimpse a bit of open space, a clearing. Studying the tree for a moment, Auron suddenly swung his claymore over his shoulder and cut down into the side of the tree. Chunks of glimmering frozen wood broke away as he continued to hack at the tree with his weapon. After he had done, he swept the pieces away with his foot and revealed a small opening which did indeed widen out into a secluded clearing.

As Auron led them in, they discovered a shallow silvery pool before the roots of a particularly large tree. The red-robed warrior stepped forward and knelt down, reaching his hand into the water and between the tree's roots. Straightening away, he turned and revealed his prize - a small blue spherical bauble, no bigger than his fist. This he passed to Tidus.

"From Jecht," he gruffly announced. "He left it here ten years ago, meaning it for you. Though, I suspect it was because he'd expected you to become a guardian like him."

A hurt look flitted across the blond summoner's face, before Tidus lowered his eyes and turned away. Yuna kissed her brother's cheek, and she and the others backed slightly away to give him some semblance of privacy.

Yusuke watched as Tidus put a little more distance between his entourage and himself, turning to lean his shoulder against a tree, and after a moment the tattooed demon realized that the sphere was some sort of recording device. A static male voice reached his sharp ears, though he suspected none of the others could hear what it said:

_*Kkk- on, Auron,*_ the deep, scratchy recorded voice cajoled. _*You lost the bet. Pay up.*_ There was a bit of loud static, and then a handful of seconds before the voice picked up again, this time softer and more serious. _*__**Habraf**__._**(6)**_ I know you well enough to know you'll find this someday. I wonder what you'll look like. And little Yuna… Your old man's going on and on about how she'll look as beautiful as her mother… I'm sorry, __**habraf**__. I never did apologize to you, did I. I know you knew why I left, and what it meant. But I wonder how long it took to sink in. That must have nearly killed you.*_ There was another bit of loud static, much briefer this time. _*Braska tried to acquire the __**tasuh aeon**_**(7)**._ He wasn't strong enough. In that chamber, I heard a voice. I tried to block it out, I tried to keep out the thoughts it fed me. But we're gettin' close to it, now… And I don't think I can fight it off much longer. Try not to hate me, __**habraf**__. There doesn't seem to be another way…*_

Silence filled the clearing after the last of the sphere's message. Tidus did not move for several moments. But then his arm dropped to his side, and the sphere slipped from loose fingers. Yusuke was there in a blur of movement, catching the sphere before it could crash to the ground. He could feel the blond's eyes on him as he straightened, could taste the near-suffocating aura of Tidus' pain. Looking up, he met the other's fiery blue gaze for a long moment before offering up the sphere. The young summoner slowly lifted a hand and took the sphere back, the feel of his pain thickening as his fingers closed around the glass bauble.

6) _"Habraf."_ Al Bhed translation = Nephew.

7) _"Tasuh aeon."_ Al Bhed translation = Demon aeon.


	17. Quiet

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Seventeen - Quiet**

They rested in that clearing, Auron and the guardians waiting near a campfire for warmth, while Yuna and Tidus sat near the shallow pool. Yusuke hovered some paces away, thinking they would need a moment to themselves. But then Yuna kissed her brother's cheek and stood, turning away. She tossed Yusuke a brief but meaningful look, then joined the rest of their companions by the campfire.

The tattooed demon approached the pool, wordlessly dropping himself down by Tidus' side. The blond summoner did not seem to acknowledge his presence for a long moment, but then turned his gaze upon Yusuke, blue eyes burning with thinly veiled hopelessness. His own eyes narrowing in concern, the dark youth rested a hand upon the blond's nearest shoulder.

Tidus offered a small smile in answer, looking back down to his hands, which were currently rolling Jecht's sphere between them. "He knew," he whispered. "Somehow… Jecht had already known he would become Sin…"

Yusuke glanced down at the bauble, his demon core murmuring uncertainly. "Tell me about him."

"He was our mother's brother," the blond answered after a short pause. "Our father Braska shocked the world by setting aside his priesthood to marry an Al Bhed…" Glancing up, he offered a vague smile upon seeing the sharpened expression in Yusuke's eyes. "Yes, you heard right. The Al Bhed are a proud people, unjustly set apart from the rest of the peoples of Spira. It is only their recent actions and behavior that are alarming.

"Our mother had two brothers - Cid, who highly disapproved of the marriage and to this day I don't recall ever meeting; and Jecht, who turned his back on his people to remain at his sister's side. Jecht spoiled us relentlessly after Yuna and I were born, and then grew protective of us after Mother died and Father sought training as a summoner. Yuna and our father were very close, and while I did love my father, I confess to sharing more in common with our uncle. It was Jecht who told me he was leaving with Auron and our father on their pilgrimage to defeat Sin…"

Yusuke jabbed a finger toward the sphere in the blond's hands, "I heard him say something about an aeon, and that your father wasn't strong enough. What's that about?"

Tidus gave a small nod of his head. "The _tasuh aeon_. He refers to the dark aeon, Anima. The demon aeon."

The dark youth's eyes sharpened. "_Demon_?"

"Yes…" The blond summoner's fiery blue eyes widened. "You think there is a connection?"

"I don't know," Yusuke shook his head, not quite as frustrated as he might once have been. "_Something_ brought me here…"

"I wish we knew more about that," Tidus softly lamented, turning his gaze again toward the shallow pool. "If we could understand how you arrived in our world, we might find a way to send you home."

Yusuke fixed his gaze upon the blond, his fierce brown eyes unwaveringly serious, his voice a gruff growl. "I told you. I'm not ready to leave you yet."

The blond quietly nodded, a faint dusting of rose coloring his bronze cheeks. He rolled the glass bauble between his hands again, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Do you know about this pool?"

The dark youth accepted the change of subject, turning his gaze away and studying the moonlit waters before them. The pool's surface gleamed silver, layering a bit of white mist in the water which in turn occasionally broke apart to reveal clear blue water toward the bottom of the pool. Yet Yusuke's demon core murmured within his chest, and in the back of his mind Raizen hummed in mild curiosity. "Feels like… pyreflies…"

"Pyreflies are best known for absorbing our thoughts and feelings and giving them form," Tidus patiently reminded. "They are one of Spira's natural wonders. Like this pool - there are dozens like it spread throughout Spira, gifted with the breath of life."

"Life?"

"If you were wounded, and found this pool, you would understand immediately."

Yusuke's dark eyes sharpened, then narrowed as a thought came to him. Lifting his arm, he quickly bit into the inside of his wrist, his fangs breaking his skin and sinking deep. Tidus sucked in a sharp breath beside him, but did not draw the attention of their companions as the tattooed demon drew his fangs from his flesh. His wrist was now bleeding freely. He suppressed his energy, stalling Genkai's spirit orb from reacting to the wound.

"I just stick my arm into the water?"

Tidus seemed to recover himself, nodding.

So Yusuke stretched forward, his upturned wrist dipping slowly below the pool's silvery surface. His arm simultaneously burned and felt chilled as the water brushed over and around his skin and into his bite marks. He clenched his teeth, his sharp eyes piercing through the clouded surface to witness streams of electric blue calling to his red demon energy, working in unison to first sew together the muscles and tendons inside his wrist before flushing out his spilled blood and sealing his skin as though it had never been broken.

His energy calmed instantly. He lifted his arm out of the water, fisting his hand and flexing his wrist. He turned his head, his fierce brown eyes meeting Tidus' fiery blue gaze.

The blond summoner's mouth quirked in a small smile.

~o~

Lake Macalania was vast and wide… and frozen solid. It was an endless tundra, ice and snow reaching toward the horizon. Yusuke was not the only one to squint against the sudden onslaught of _white_, though his sharp demon eyes needed an extra second or two to recover. When at last he could blink the color back into his sight, he found the others gathered before an exact replica of the Al Bhed shop they had stayed at by the Mi'ihen Highroad.

They were not alone. The Guado who had introduced himself as Tromell seemed to have been anticipating their arrival.

"Lady Yuna," he greeted, confirming Yusuke's suspicions. "We've been expecting you. Lord Seymour sends his apologies to both you and your brother for having left without notice."

"It's all right," the brunette answered. "But… I have a question, if I may."

Tromell nodded that he was listening.

Yuna glanced toward Tidus, who stood close by her side, and Yusuke's quick eyes watched as her hand sought and clasped her brother's tightly. "I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think that Maester Seymour would let me?"

"But of course, my lady," the Guado smiled. "Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure." Stepping back, he gestured toward the wide road before them.

Yusuke swiftly came forth and gripped Tidus' free wrist. "Wait."

Wakka and Lulu murmured in surprise, and even Auron quirked an eyebrow in mild curiosity. But the blond summoner only paused, glancing over his shoulder to offer a small smile. "We'll be fine, Yusuke. You can let me go."

"No," the tattooed demon hissed, "you won't. I-"

But Tidus only leaned forward until they were nearly pressed together, whispering into his ear. "Trust me…?"

Swallowing thickly, Yusuke went against every instinct flaring within his core and released the blond's wrist. Tidus' smile strengthened for an instant, before he turned and let himself and Yuna be led away.

Auron and the other guardians stared at Yusuke, but the dark youth kept his fierce brown gaze upon their summoners. Raizen's dark energy spat in venomous warning as Tidus turned a bend in the road, seconds before the earth shook and shouting voices reached his sensitive ears. Swearing, Yusuke disappeared in a blur of movement, only barely sensing Auron and the others racing to follow after him.

Yusuke came to an abrupt halt in the midst of a clearing - no, what he felt beneath the snow was ice, a frozen lake. He glared at the sight before him, and somewhere behind him he heard Rikku's sharp gasp of surprise as they finally caught up to him.

A large number of tanned men and women in sparse clothing and dark goggles had ambushed Yuna and her brother - Al Bhed. One, in particular, stood atop a tall snow bank, arms crossed before his chest. His goggled gaze seemed to zero in on them when Yusuke and the others quickly came to their summoners' aid, and he spoke. "Rikku!"

Biting back another low profanity, Yusuke turned to the petite blonde as the other Al Bhed went on: "_Tuh'd ehdanavana un oui kad drec!_"**(8)**

Rikku's swirled green eyes widened as the earth shook again. Yusuke looked forward in time to watch a machina resembling a large gatling gun roll onto the ice. Rikku only hesitated a moment, but then reached into her pouch. Lifting her fist away, she threw three small metallic spheres into the air. They exploded quite loudly upon reaching their target. Auron and Kimahri seemed to take that as their cue, both racing forth to engage the Al Bhed. Wakka and Lulu flanked Tidus and his sister, and Rikku took a couple steps back to join them, even as she threw another grenade.

Yusuke would not stand idle. Gathering his energy together, he threw his fist forward and let loose a barrage of spirit bullets in a relentless assault against the machina. At his side, Rikku found time to _"Ooh"_ in awe, even as she dug into her pouch and threw another grenade. Sparing her a quick glance, he saw that beneath her look of concentration there was a hint of adrenaline curling the corner of her mouth.

She was likely trying very hard not to dwell on the fact that she was pitching herself against her own people. But no one could fake that innate love of a good brawl.

A girl who wasn't squeamish about getting her knuckles bloody?

_Hell, yes._

At last, the machina crumbled in a heap of smoking metal. The Al Bhed who had spoken out slid down from his snow bank, taking two menacing steps forward, his finger pointing at Rikku almost in accusation. "_E femm damm vydran!_"**(9)**

The petite blonde drew herself up defiantly, and spoke a few words herself: "_E ys draen guardian, oui caa? Tidus yht Yuna yna cyva. Fa femm kiynt dras. Drao yna cyva!_"**(10)**

"_Oui tu drec __**ymuha**__, cecdan!_"**(11)** He threw something to the snow at his feet and, shaking his head, turned away. The Al Bhed followed after him.

The lake suddenly grew entirely too quiet.

8) "_Tuh'd ehdanavana un oui kad drec!_" Al Bhed translation = "Don't interfere or you get this!"

9) "_E femm damm vydran!_" Al Bhed translation = "I will tell father!"

10) "_E ys draen guardian, oui caa? Tidus yht Yuna yna cyva. Fa femm kiynt dras. Drao yna cyva!_" Al Bhed translation = "I am their guardian, you see? Tidus and Yuna are safe. We will guard them. They are safe!"

11) "_Oui tu drec __**ymuha**__, cecdan!_" Al Bhed translation = "You do this _alone_, sister!"


	18. He Pounced

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Eighteen - He Pounced**

Rikku dropped her head, her tiny hands fisting at her sides. Turning his head, Yusuke blurred toward the abandoned snow bank and knelt in the snow. His searching fingers met with cold metal, and he gently clasped his fist around what he'd found, straightening to his feet. Returning to Rikku's side, he set a hand to the petite blonde's shoulder. She glanced up. Yusuke offered his other hand between them, opening his upturned fist.

Her swirled green eyes glistened with tears as she touched her own fingers to the thick links of the silver bracelet, letting her fingertips brush against the bronze sigil - a pair of sun sparks, clustered together to almost appear as one.

Lightly taking her hand in his, Yusuke carefully slid the bracelet around her wrist. The weight of the bronze charm caused the silver links to slide further through the larger loop at the opposite end, which helped the chain to fit snugly around her small wrist. Rikku smoothed the tears from her eyes and looked up, meeting the tattooed youth's gaze with a tremulous smile. "_Dryhg oui_…"**(12)**

It was not difficult to detect the gratitude in the broken quality of her whisper. Yusuke nodded.

"How come you speak Al Bhed?" Wakka's voice suddenly spoke behind them.

Yusuke watched as the petite blonde flinched as though struck, and he bit off a profanity under his breath. It was perhaps the _worst_ time for the redhead to show another resemblance to Kuwabara…

"Because," Rikku softly spoke up, turning to face the others. "_I'm_ Al Bhed. And that… was my brother."

Wakka swore, taking a quick step back in his disbelief. When he noticed a lack of surprise from the rest of their companions, he shook his head and dragged a hand through his hair. "This is _great_. None of you thought I might've needed to know I was traveling with an Al Bhed? A _heathen_?"

"You're wrong," Rikku protested, hurt thick in her voice. "We have nothing against Yevon."

"But you Al Bhed use the forbidden machina!" Wakka threw back at her, stepping forward as though to confront her personally. Yusuke shifted, placing himself somewhat between them, but for the moment the redhead seemed to want to keep his distance. He paused, glaring over Yusuke's shoulder as he went on; "Sin was _born_ because people used machina!"

But Rikku evidently had a spitfire temper herself, finally retorting, "You got proof? Show me!"

"It's in Yevon's teachings. Not that you'd know."

"That's not good enough!" She insisted, "Yevon says this, Yevon says that - can't you think for yourself?"

"Well, then you tell me!" Wakka suddenly demanded, crossing his arms across his thick chest. "_Where_ did Sin come from?"

Here, Rikku hesitated. "I-I don't know…"

The redhead scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You bad-mouth Yevon, and that's all you can come up with?"

She stepped around Yusuke's protection, shaking her head. "But that doesn't mean you should do whatever they say without thinking. Nothing will ever change that way."

"Nothing has to change!"

Even the winds fell silent for a long moment at his words.

Rikku's expression grew sad and far-too-understanding. "You want Sin to keep coming back…? There might be a way to stop it."

Wakka at last seemed to hesitate before speaking again, almost as though beginning to doubt deeply rooted beliefs. "S-Sin will be gone once we atone for our past mistakes."

"When?" She appealed, earnestly. "How?"

"If we keep faith in Yevon's teachings, it will be gone one day." But even Wakka seemed suddenly to detect the repetitious monotony of his words. Shaking his head, he turned and walked away.

Rikku sighed, sharing a glance with Yusuke. "Why do I even bother…?"

The tattooed demon touched a hand to her arm, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Tromell Guado had led their two summoners away now that the danger had passed. Knowing they must follow, Auron and Kimahri approached a couple of the machina vehicles the Al Bhed had left behind, inspecting them. "Rikku," the red-robed warrior spoke. "Will these move?"

Her face lit up. "Yes!"

Some minutes later - despite some very vocal protests from Wakka - they had all paired off on the vehicles and were speeding across the icy tundra. Yusuke followed alongside, his hands and feet kicking up a shower of snow as he easily kept up with the lead.

~o~

They left the vehicles outside the mouth of a cave. The cave's interior was vast and almost bottomless, with an elevated path of ice leading toward their goal's hidden entrance. As they approached the temple doors, however, a priest blocked their path. The man's eyes glared in Rikku's direction; "The likes of _her_ are not welcome in this hallowed place!"

Yusuke barely bit back a low growl; Auron challenged the priest. "_She_ is a guardian."

The man sputtered in disbelief, "P-preposterous!"

"She's given the Oath."

"But-"

Rikku stepped forward - perhaps bravely, in view of her situation. "The pilgrimage is dangerous. I want to help."

"And that's all one needs to become a guardian," Auron added, pointedly.

The priest swallowed, nodding. His gaze shifted, "And… that one?"

Everyone turned to Yusuke, who narrowed his fierce eyes and bared his fangs in the start of a scowl. Auron kept him back with an arm stretched before the tattooed youth's chest. "Do you question the guardians of every summoner come to pray in your temple?"

The man seemed to shrink in on himself, "Well… no-"

"Then I suggest you let us pass, that we may continue with our duties."

As though to punctuate Auron's words, Kimahri moved by Yusuke's side and gave out a low growl. The priest backed away quickly. Auron waved Yusuke and the others into the temple ahead of him.

Before they could approach the stairs that would lead into the sacred chambers, however, an acolyte burst forth from one of the temple's rooms. "Maester Jyscal!" She spied their number, racing forth to grasp Yusuke's arm. There were tears in her eyes as she looked up and met his gaze. "Please… A sphere in Lady Yuna's belongings…"

Frowning curiously, the tattooed demon exchanged a quick glance with Auron. Leaving the acolyte behind, the group of six entered the room she had abandoned. Lulu immediately found a small travel pack by one of the beds, her wine-red eyes widening as she pulled out a small glass sphere identical to the one Tidus had been given in the forest.

"Play it," Auron gruffly ordered, speaking aloud what perhaps all of them were thinking at that moment.

Yusuke narrowed his fierce brown eyes as electric static hissed, followed by the recording of an unfamiliar voice:

_*What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, murdered by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death, as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this… I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son.*_

"He's a murderer," Lulu murmured in shock over the sphere's hissing.

"And Yuna and Tidus went to meet him," Yusuke growled, feeling his energy simmer beneath his skin.

Wakka's eyes widened. "He… He wouldn't have followed them into the sacred chambers…" He looked unsure, turning to Kimahri; "Would he?"

The blue beast gave a low rumbling growl, fisting his spear tightly as he turned and left the room. Auron led the others in following after him, and it was perhaps no surprise to find one of the temple's priests lying in a dizzied heap at the foot of the stairs. They raced into the chambers, which themselves were a number of pathways, as thickly layered in ice as the cave itself.

Yusuke was the first to burst through the door of the main antechamber, his bare feet slapping against the cold marble floor as he skidded to a halt. His fierce brown eyes narrowed, and he let out a low, ripping growl.

Seymour Guado stood with his back turned, waiting before the door of the sacred chamber itself.

The tattooed demon felt a large hand settle upon his shoulder, and he looked to find Kimahri standing at his side, the rest of their companions grouping around them as they stared down the blue-haired Guado.

"Seymour," Auron muttered in angered greeting.

Yet the man seemed unfazed, not even glancing over his shoulder as he spoke. "Do be quiet. Lady Yuna and her brother pray to the Fayth."

Yusuke flexed his clawed hands at his sides, growling again under his breath. Even with the secrets behind his good eye and the nonhuman feel of his aura, the old man warranted more respect than that.

Auron made as though to say something more, but then the door to the Fayth's chamber clicked and lifted open. Light poured out, blindingly white for an instant before it dimmed to reveal two shadows standing within its pale depths. As the glow faded, Yuna and Tidus came down the small number of stairs, both staring at the arrival of their guardians - each and every one of them with their weapons drawn.

Yuna drew in a sharp gasp, lifting her hand to her mouth. "W-why…?"

Yusuke clenched his jaw, biting back the threat in his voice as he answered, "We found the sphere." His fierce brown eyes darted to and fixed upon the blond at her side.

Tidus met his gaze unflinchingly, reaching down to take his beloved twin's free hand in his own.

Auron spoke to Seymour; "You killed Jyscal."

"And what of it?" The Guado calmly responded, denying nothing. He addressed the two summoners; "Lady Yuna, certainly _you_ knew of this, did you not?"

The pretty brunette gave a small nod.

"Well then," Seymour asked, "why have you come to me?"

There was a brief pause, before Yuna dropped her hand from her mouth. She conjured her staff into her fist, and there was a tiny spark in her mismatched eyes as she declared, surprisingly boldly, "We came to stop you!"

Tidus nodded, dark determination in his own flame blue eyes as he called his black-bladed sword into his free hand.

Yusuke's core swelled with a flash of fierce pride toward the both of them.

As though those words were the cue they had been waiting for, Auron and the other guardians spread out in a wide circle around the corrupted maester, weapons at the ready. Seymour glanced at them all in turn, and s hint of amusement coated his voice as he replied, "I see. You came to punish me, then."

Yuna did not appear to like how that was phrased, and seemed almost to waver. Seeing this, he smiled and offered his hand forth.

With a blur of movement, Yusuke threw himself between Seymour and the twin summoners, letting loose a sharp growl as he glared at the Guado with power-blackened eyes.

"Ah," Seymour replied shortly, and the dark demon had the satisfaction of watching him barely contain a flinch as he drew his hand back. "Of course. _'Protect the summoner, even at the cost of one's life.'_ The Code of the Guardian. How admirable." He sighed, "Well… if you're offering your lives… Then I shall have to take them." He threw his hand high above his head.

Yusuke hissed a torrid profanity, griping his skull with both hands and falling to his knee as the floor and walls resounded with the backlash of a powerfully dark aura. He squinted an eye open, glimpsing the ominous form of the colossal aeon he had seen in Luca, the one called Anima.

_H-Hell…_ Yusuke could not move under the pressure of so much untethered energy.

A long moment passed, before Anima's aura was suddenly countered with a newer, brighter one. The feel of the room grew impossibly colder, so that even Yusuke began to feel it, and he blinked his eyes open in surprise as tiny snow flurries kissed his cheek. Looking up, he felt his blackened gaze widen as he took in the sight of a beautiful creature with frosted-over pale skin and frozen blue hair. There was a gentle glow in her ethereal eyes, and she gave Yusuke a soft smile, offering her hand.

Swallowing, the tattooed demon reached up and took her hand in his… and as soon as he felt her cold touch, the throbbing his skull eased off, as though her aura was cleansing his of the terrible feel of Anima's energy. He felt Raizen's primal energy pull back as well, and could sense his eyes returning to their usual color. Her fingers tightened around his, and she pulled Yusuke to his feet. _Do not be afraid_, she whispered into his mind. _I am Shiva._ She released his hand and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to her side, and their gazes locked for a long moment before they both turned to Seymour's aeon. _Look at her,_ the ice maiden murmured, something akin to sorrow in her voice. _Is she not a wonder?_

Blinking, Yusuke clenched his jaw and let a small tendril of his energy cautiously brush against the feel of Anima's ominous aura. And he sucked in an inaudible hiss of breath as his mind was filled with the image of a dark-haired woman, her pale alabaster body wrapped in the tatters of a once-fine gown. She sat on her heels in the midst of the clouded vision, her face hidden behind her hands, and the sounds of her quiet weeping echoed softly in Yusuke's ears as though he could truly hear it. A thin black chain wove around her left forearm, dangling a small paper sutra near her wrist. A film of dark energy coated her delicate frame, shimmering and sizzling as though barely held in check.

Yusuke blinked again, and Anima's cold blue eye glared down at him, blazing. Shiva lifted her free hand before her, and Yusuke stared as the antechamber shook in response. Ice appeared, covering the walls and the floor in a thick layer, capturing Anima and locking the dark aeon and Seymour in place. Shiva snapped her fingers, the sound echoing loudly, and the ice shattered loudly - like the crashing of several glass windows at once. Yusuke, having shielded his eyes from any blowback, dropped his arm and stared.

The chamber was flooded in white for an instant, snow flurries and tiny shimmering ice crystals floating in the air. The room seemed ominously silenced after all that, which made the slapping of Tidus' boots against the marble floor seem to echo even louder as the blond summoner raced across the room. His grip tightened around his blackened blade, and the blond leapt into an attack against Seymour.

The Guado, visibly enraged over the defeat of his aeon, somehow managed to call into being an assortment of creatures that closely resembled fiends. Auron and the others found themselves busied with the task of defending Yuna. The antechamber suddenly became a caged-in battlefield.

Shiva slipped her arm from around Yusuke's shoulders and gave a gentle nudge at his back. The tattooed demon's muscles tightened like coils, and black bled into his eyes again. But this time he was in control of Raizen's pocketed energy and his instincts; he narrowed his gaze, setting his sight upon a certain back-stabbing Guado.

With a scalding growl, he pounced.

12) "_Dryhg oui_…" Al Bhed translation = "Thank you…"


	19. Yusuke!

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Nineteen - Yusuke!**

Looking back, all he would remember were echoing growls, tearing flesh, and shattering shards of ice.

When it was all over, and the blur of the fight had cleared, Yusuke was crouched over Seymour Guado and roughly gripping him around the back of his neck. The Guado winced as he yanked up with his hand, bringing Seymour closer, his other hand poised over his shoulder and ready to strike.

Another hand came out of nowhere and quickly grasped his wrist. Yusuke barely reined in a sharp growl as he turned his head, and his blackened eyes met with a fiery blue gaze. Tidus stared back at him, watching him steadily, waiting. Letting out a slow breath, the tattooed demon released his hold on the corrupted maester and stepped away. He was rewarded with a small smile, though Tidus' eyes remained solemn and focused on the scene before them.

Yusuke glanced over his shoulder. The rest of their companions had vanquished Seymour's fiends, and did not seem much hurt. The dark youth lifted his gaze; the ice aeon Shiva offered a gentle smile, even as she conjured a glittering ethereal cloak and vanished behind it, her form wavering and fading away now that her purpose was done.

Yuna hesitantly stepped forward, joining her brother's side, her mismatched eyes unsure as she stared down at the Guado before them.

Seymour panted and gasped for breath as he looked up at them from the marble floor.

His clothes were in shreds and, though his magic had staved off Tidus' blade, his flesh was littered with deep cuts from Yusuke's claws. "Y-Yuna. You would… p-pity me now…?"

The pretty brunette gave a soft cry, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Tidus pulled her close and cradled her head to his shoulder, and Yusuke placed himself between them and the fallen maester. The tattooed youth watched Seymour carefully, though the man was quite obviously no longer a threat. Yusuke's sharp eyes watched Seymour's chest rise and fall for the last time, his ears picked out the last few heartbeats. And then Seymour Guado was dead.

As though the world had an ironic sense of humor, or they were just cursed with _bad_ timing, Tromell and a few nameless Guado chose that moment to burst into the antechamber. "Lord Seymour!" Tromell cried, racing forth. "What happened here?"

The other Guado rushed to their deceased maester's side, each using almost tender care as they lifted him up between them and began a slow progression toward the door. Yusuke watched as Tromell's gaze fell to the blood on the floor, and the dark demon cussed under his breath.

"_You_ did this?" Tromell demanded, looking up again. "_Traitors_!"

Yuna gasped again at that word being directed at her, and the others all murmured in hurt surprise. Even Auron did not seem unaffected as he gruffly spoke up. "Our summoners will Send him to the Farplane."

Tidus made as though to step forward to do exactly that, but Tromell quickly blocked his path. "Stay _away_ from him!" He shouted, as the other Guado hefted their deceased maester out the chamber door. So venomous was his mistrust toward their entourage, that everyone stood frozen as he followed after his companions.

Yusuke was the first to break the silence, shaking remnants of blood from his claws with a low growl. "Come on. We're gonna have to explain ourselves if we want out of this mess."

Yuna quietly approached him, taking his hands in hers. Her fingers lit with a softy white glow, and after the magic had faded his hands were cleansed of Seymour's blood. Yusuke clenched his jaw, not knowing how to thank her this time - he _had_ just killed a man she'd considered marrying, after all. But the pretty brunette only released his hands with a small, tremulous smile, and Yusuke felt perhaps she understood why he felt uneasy. He answered her smile with an apologetic smirk.

Auron took the lead again, hefting his claymore atop his shoulder and motioning for the others to follow him out the door. It did not take them long at all to catch up to Tromell in the temple's main hall. But he was unwilling to listen to their reasoning; he crushed the sphere that had contained Maester Jyscal's incriminating message and ordered a surprisingly large number of Guado to apprehend their entourage.

Yusuke growled dangerously. Kimahri readied his spear to fight. But Auron shouted for a retreat. The tattooed demon spat out a cutting string of profanities; he still had an excess of rage at Seymour to burn through. Auron gave him the consolation prize of helping him and Kimahri keep the Guado at bay, giving Lulu and Wakka and Rikku a head start to escape with Tidus and Yuna.

The Guado were fun to play with, but the longer they delayed, the more anxious Yusuke began to feel. At last, Auron called for their own retreat, and the tattooed demon threw his energy at the Guado, pushing them back and leaving them too stunned to follow right away. The three guardians ran.

They left the temple and raced through the cave, coming out again into the frozen tundra outside. The Al Bhed vehicles were gone; Lulu and the others must've taken them to optimize their head start. Yusuke took the lead, then, his aura flaring as he cast his senses in search of the rest of their party. He found them easily enough and broke out into a run, barely keeping himself at just enough of a human speed that Kimahri and Auron could keep up.

They reached the lake before catching up to the others. Lulu and Wakka immediately went to Auron, looking ready to plan their next move, and Rikku was apologizing to the group as a whole, even as she kicked snow at one of the vehicles. Yusuke glimpsed faint steam rising from each of the vehicles and guessed that they had overheated.

Auron was willing to slow down, now that they had regrouped, but he insisted they could not stop until they'd reached the forest far across the lake. The forest would be large enough to hide them while they escaped. And so they started off again; Yusuke, Rikku, and Kimahri hung back behind the others to keep a watch for any Guado in pursuit.

They were forced to stop halfway across the lake's surface, however. Two large fiends that resembled blue and white four-armed gorillas blocked their path. They seemed mean-tempered and in a rage. Yusuke flared a pulse of his energy at them, but they would not be cowed. Auron and Kimahri moved forward to fight them back. The two fiends threw their oversized fists in boxer-like attacks, and getting hit by one of those fists did not seem at all appealing.

They sometimes leapt into the air and threw their fists to the ice as they landed. The ground shook each time. Yusuke frowned, looking down at the ice and snow. He had felt the vibrations through his bare feet, vibrations that had thrummed too strongly to have been slowed down by solid ice. Crouching low, he swept aside some snow and touched both hands to the ice. He let a trickle of his energy loose, and his core clenched in sharp alarm at what he discovered.

The ground shook again, and Yusuke both felt and heard the ice crack. Quickly pushing to his feet, he shouted toward the others, "The lake's hollow!"

Yuna and Tidus turned to him, their eyes wide with panicked understanding.

"Kill them quickly!" Auron ordered. "Before they break the ice!"

"Shouldn't we run?" Lulu wondered, her gaze darting toward the forest, even as her energy flared as she readied her magic.

Yusuke braced his feet, jaw clenching as he sensed the widening cracks beneath the snow. "Get going!" He urged, gathering his own energy into his fist. The tattooed demon turned power-blackened eyes to Auron; "Get everyone as far as you can, and fast!"

"Yusuke!" Tidus immediately protested.

"Don't argue," he pleaded, his demon core squeezing painfully within his chest. "Just go!"

"_No!_" The blond summoner raced forth, catching Yusuke's arm in a tight grip. "Not without you."

Yusuke knew he shouldn't have hesitated. All his instincts, every fiber in his being, were screaming at him to get them off the lake _now_. But he met that fiery blue gaze, and knew the briefest instant of uncertainty.

Unfortunately, that single, solitary moment cost them. The two fiends jumped at the same time, both of them bringing their dangerously large fists to the ice as they landed. The lake's surface shook, then began to crackle and break all at once. Yusuke grabbed Tidus around the waist and dropped to all fours, tugging the blond close to his side and shouting for the rest of their companions to do the same. He pressed his free palm flat on the ice, pooling his energy together and pushing it out. It spread beneath the ice, like spilled ink, and the tattooed demon clenched his jaw in concentration as he stretched its reach to encompass the rest of their companions.

He knew he couldn't stop the ice from breaking. It crackled sharply, the noise echoing loudly in the air. Seconds, he had only seconds. Yusuke clenched his jaw harder, his core squeezing painfully in his chest as he tried not to succumb to the others' alarm and panic. "Hold on!" He shouted at everyone.

Then he turned to the blond at his side, hissing, "_Don't you let go of me._"

Tidus nodded, his hands quickly coming around the tattooed demon's torso and gripping tight.

The ice cracked apart just a bit, and everyone cried out in greater alarm. And then in happened. The ice finally tore apart and collapsed. Screams filled the air as they began to fall, but Yusuke was ready. Struggling not to let the panicked atmosphere shatter his concentration, he manifested his energy into a semi-tangible, elastic force. It was enough to catch their entire entourage and slow their descent. A safety net of energy, it stretched and grew thin and stretched some more… until at last it broke apart with an almost soundless _snap_ and dropped them the last few feet to the lake bottom.

Yusuke grunted as his back hit the ground, his arms a protective cage around the blond sprawled across his chest. Tidus groaned - for their landing was not a soft one - and shifted carefully, experimentally. But he seemed to have come out of the danger unscathed. He braced his hands to the ground on either side of Yusuke's torso and pushed himself up, flame blue eyes filled with worry.

"I'm fine," Yusuke hissed through clenched teeth, feeling his exhausted energy slowly withdraw back into him. Letting out a measured breath, he lifted a hand and gently carded his fingers through the tawny strands of Tidus' hair. His fierce brown gaze locked on Tidus' face, searching and intense. "Do me a favor and tell me you're not hurt. Even if you gotta lie to me."

The blond's mouth tugged in a small smile, and he pressed his head just a little closer against Yusuke's hand. "I'm not hurt. And thank you. I don't know how you managed that."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," the dark youth shook his head, wincing as the use of so much energy thrummed beneath his skin like a physical ache. Tidus' gaze grew faintly concerned, but Yusuke only smirked, reassuringly. "Thing about followin' your instincts… You don't ask _why_ or _how_. You just _do_."

"Your instincts probably saved us all, Yusuke."

"Let's find out." Giving the blond another smirk, he raised his voice. "Who's not dead?"

Four human voices and one blue beast gave answer. Yusuke frowned slightly, dropping his hand from Tidus' hair and pushing up on his elbows to glance around. Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku were grouped together, looking dazed but unharmed. Kimahri stood alone, his cat-yellow gaze turned upward toward the surface, now a mile or so above them. Auron was on his feet as well, but his attention was riveted upon something else entirely.

"Tidus," the red-robed warrior gruffly called out. "Yuna…"

The blond summoner reacted immediately, pushing to his feet as quickly as his still-shocked body could get him there. Yusuke stood as well, automatically taking Tidus' arm across his shoulders to support the blond's weight, and he helped Tidus to his beloved twin's side.

"She fainted," Auron revealed before they could ask. "The excitement of the fall was too much for her."

"Before or after?" Yusuke demanded.

"During."

Tidus left Yusuke's support and sank to his knees beside his sister. Taking a deep breath, he hovered his hands over Yuna's form and closed his eyes. His hands ignited with a soft blue glow, and while the others gathered closer, no one dared interrupt his concentration. "No," Tidus eventually murmured, opening his eyes as the glow faded from his palms. He dropped his hands to his lap with a small sigh. "She isn't traumatized by the fall; it really was too much happening at once. She just needs some rest."

Lulu and Rikku breathed again in relief, and Wakka rubbed at the back of his neck with a half-hearted grin to disguise the worry that still lingered in his eyes.

"So do you," Auron reminded, not unkindly. "Stay here. Kimahri and I will look for a way back to the surface."

The blue beast nodded, either in agreement or approval, and followed after the man.

Yusuke knew a way out. He'd climb. He'd dig his claws into the ice and anchor his feet and climb straight to the top and out. But, with the exception of Kimahri, his travel companions were all human. Such a feat would have been extremely difficult for them, if not impossible.

Ignoring a slight headache, deeming it the result of such an unorthodox use of his energy, the tattooed demon crossed his ankles and dropped to the ground at Tidus' side. "So," he said, catching the blond's attention. "It was a trap. She didn't want to marry him."

A faint flush of warmth colored Tidus' bronzed cheeks. "That was the plan, yes. Back in Guadosalam… Jyscal's spirit dropped the sphere, just as I was Sending him back into the Farplane." He sighed, "Yuna and I didn't get a chance to view it until we'd rested at the Al Bhed shop, midway through the Thunder Plains."

Yusuke muttered an oath; he'd _known_ he'd missed something important while his human side had been out to lunch. He rubbed absently at his brow, "So you figured, what, that you'd get him to let his guard down and then turn him in?"

"It was Yuna's idea," the blond admitted. "She had come so close to caring for Maester Seymour, and then to discover what he had done… The sting was as a personal betrayal, and she thought it was only right that he be brought before Yevon's judgment."

"And you went along with it."

"I wasn't about to let her confront him alone."

"No, I know, I get that." He frowned slightly, pressing his hand closer to his head. "I just figured you would've told some of us, let us in on it."

"Yusuke?" Tidus' tone grew soft and worried. He turned and shifted closer, lifting a hand to touch the one the dark youth held so firmly to his own brow. "Are you all right…?"

He shook his head. The increase of ominous energy was growing steadily stronger, and the pressure of it against his skull was becoming harder to ignore. "Something's coming," he growled in warning. He pressed his other hand to his head, clenching his teeth as the pressure grew. "Something big."

"Sinspawn?" Tidus quietly wondered.

But Yusuke shook his head again. "Bigger." He felt a slight burn in his nose, and something wet dripped onto his upper lip. The tattooed demon squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his head harder, trying desperately to contain the backlash. "_D-darker_."

He felt hands grip his shoulders, heard Tidus' voice softly pleading. "Stay with us, Yusuke." Warmth flooded his body, and he recognized the feel of healing magic at work, perhaps in attempt to help him fight back the swirl of black threatening to flood his mind. "Stay with me…"

"What's going on?" Wakka's voice spoke up, and Lulu's voice wondered, "Has he been hurt?"

"Get ready," Tidus urgently warned them, as the ground suddenly began to quake. "We may need to defend ourselves."

"What about Kimahri," Rikku's voice nervously asked. "And Sir Auron?"

"Yusuke," Tidus murmured, closer now to the dark youth's ear to ensure he had his attention. "Yusuke, what's coming? Is it Sin?"

He tried to peel his own eyes open, feeling the tell-tale burn that meant they had gone black under so much spiritual pressure. "T-Tidus… I-" But then the backlash pulsed against his skull, and he winced with a grunt of pain. The ground shook more. He grabbed the blond summoner and pulled him closer to his twin's side, and with the last of his strength and focus he threw himself over the both of them as a shield of protection. That was when he began to black out, and he dropped his suddenly heavy head to Tidus' shoulder with an almost inaudible groan.

"Yusuke…?" The blond's voice sounded fainter, farther away. "_Yusuke!_"


	20. Will Not Die

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Chapter Twenty - Will Not Die**

_I should've kissed him._

That was the first thought to float to the surface as Yusuke regained consciousness. His core murmured in sorrowful agreement, and in the back of his mind, behind the aching of his skull, Raizen softly cursed in regret.

He pushed up to his hands and knees. The ground felt unusually soft and giving, and he peeled his eyes open to find that he was kneeling on sand. _Déjà vu._ For the second time since finding himself in this world, he had awoke on some unknown beach, with no memory of how he'd gotten there.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up and sat back on his heels. His energy hummed beneath his skin, rejuvenated and _aware_. He lifted his head, mercifully free of the throbbing backlash that had forced him to pass out, and looked around. Not a beach, then, he corrected himself as he took in the vast desert surrounding him and the small pool of water near his side.

His primal instincts for survival acknowledged what was likely the only source for water he'd find in such a place for a while, and he automatically took inventory of his vitals. He did not need the water, but he knew his human friends would.

Finding himself alone, he tossed his senses wide. His companions were scattered, but only at short distances from where he was. They would be easy to find again. In fact, the nonhuman feel of a certain red-robed warrior's aura was just a short walk over the nearest sand dune. It would be simple enough to gather them all together by this pool and determine their next move.

Getting to his feet, he started walking.

~o~

It was the better part of an hour - walking back and forth, to and from the pool of water - before he'd gathered everyone he could find. Yusuke Urameshi was not happy with himself. For some unknown, unsettling reason, he had not been able to sense their twin summoners and therefore could not find them.

Auron had taken the jug he'd been carrying all this time at his hip, emptied it of a dark burgundy liquid, then muttered something under his breath at it. He was now filling it to the brim with fresh clean water from the pool.

Sitting close to Yusuke's side, Rikku suddenly fidgeted. When the tattooed demon turned his gaze on her, she ducked her head guiltily. "T-there's something I want to tell all of you," she spoke, earning the attention of the rest of their companions. "But… promise you won't say anything?"

Everyone else seemed willing enough to play along with that - except Wakka. His eyes narrowed, and he tossed Rikku a deeply skeptical look.

"And no glaring either!" She snapped, seeing it. Sighing, she turned to Yusuke and started again. "I know where we are."

He blinked. "You do?"

She nodded, apparently encouraged by his lack of suspicion. "We're on Bikanel Island. There's a place we Al Bhed call _Home_ near here. Tidus and Yunie are there, I'm sure of it! Other Al Bhed must've come and rescued them."

Wakka scoffed, crossing his arms. "_Kidnapped_, you mean."

Yusuke gave the redhead a dark look, his eyes narrowing in fierce warning.

"A-anyway," Rikku went on, seeming to ignore Wakka's comment with some difficulty. "I'll take you there if you all promise that you won't tell anyone about it. _Especially_ Yevonites. You know they don't like the Al Bhed. Who _knows_ what they'd do if they knew!"

"Gimme a break," Wakka broke in again. He was really starting to test Yusuke's patience. "What're you accusing Yevon of, this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us before," she confessed, almost whispering the news.

"Well, you Al Bhed must've deserved it!"

Yusuke let loose a soft growl, suddenly finding himself wishing Wakka _were_ Kuwabara, so he could pummel some sense into him a few times to shut him up.

"Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island," the little blonde urged. "Please?"

Yusuke immediately promised; he trusted Rikku, and she was offering a way to get to their summoners more quickly. He rarely communicated with anyone outside their group anyway, so it wasn't as though he had anyone to tell. It didn't take long at all for the others to give their word as well. Rikku might have only been with them a short while, but she'd done enough to prove herself - perhaps especially by defying her own people in their summoners' defense.

It was only with the greatest reluctance, and not without a few words muttered in bitter sarcasm, that Wakka finally gave in and added his own oath of secrecy.

Rikku beamed a smile as though the redhead had done it with every sincerity and jumped to her feet, ready to lead the way.

Auron's precaution proved itself invaluable. The desert island was much larger than it had appeared. They trudged through the golden sands for a half-day, with the bright sun beating down on their shoulders with its incredible heat, and the humans were all glad of the water Auron had seized in his jug.

Rikku, always several steps ahead of the group, was just climbing atop a particularly large sand dune. But at the top she froze, and everyone rushed forward as she cried out in dismay.

Yusuke felt his fierce brown eyes widen in sharp disbelief. It wasn't that the Al Bhed _Home_ was a machina city. He'd been prepared for that. It wasn't that even the buildings seemed capable of some unknown function at just the flick of a secret switch. With Al Bhed involved, it was probably unwise not to expect something like that as well. No, it was the feel of hatred and fear in the air, even before the scent of smoke and fire reached them.

The Al Bhed _Home_ was under attack.

And somewhere in that city, they'd been hoping to find their summoners.

Yusuke cussed viciously, throwing himself into the lead as they raced forth. Rage and fear bombarded his senses from all around as they entered the city, as well as the sounds of weapons being fired, people screaming, and fiends growling. The attack had obviously been going on for some time; already, there were the bodies of those who'd fought and died.

Rikku suddenly gasped and broke away from the others, falling to her knees beside one such body, which Yusuke noticed was still stirring with some life as they waited to support her. "Keyakku," the petite blonde pleaded, tears catching in her throat as she cradled the man's head on her lap. "Who is it? Who's attacking us? _Fru tet drec du oui?_"**(13)**

The Al Bhed coughed and groaned, and it seemed he could think passed his obvious pains. Yet he only had breath enough to wheeze out two words: "Y-Yevon… G… Guado…" And then he sighed his last breath.

"Keyakku?" Rikku cried, "Keyakku!"

It was Lulu who hesitantly ventured to speak again after several seconds, her soft voice somehow breaking through the chaos still raging around them. "A war…? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?"

"_Dryd ec fnuhk!_"**(14)** Another Al Bhed, this one tall and bald, with a strong build and a stern face, approached them all. "_Guado ku vun dra summoners._"**(15)**

"_Vydran_," Rikku greeted in soft surprise, her tears temporarily forgotten.**(16)**

The man stared down at her and the Al Bhed that had died in her lap, his dark swirled eyes clouded over in pain and a call for vengeance. Then he looked up, his gaze landing on Auron and Yusuke. "You Rikku's friends?"

"Yes," the red-robed warrior confirmed by Yusuke's side.

"Well, don't just stand there," the man snapped, throwing a hand up impatiently as he turned away as he started walking away. "Come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our _Home_!"

Shocked into motion, Auron and the others began following after him. Yusuke, however, lingered behind. He touched a clawed hand to Rikku's shoulder, gently urging her out of her mournful reverie. The blonde nodded, sniffling; she carefully let her fallen friend's head rest on the ground and straightened to her feet.

Yusuke cocked his head in the direction of the man who had led their companions away; "I take it he's your leader?"

She nodded again, wiping her eyes and checking the metal claws curled over the knuckles of her right glove. "His name is Cid. He's… my dad."

Yusuke couldn't really say he was surprised. The way she had pleaded with them all to never give away the secret of this machina city had hinted that she felt an unusually strong sense of responsibility toward her own people. That kind of loyalty was hard to teach; it could only have been born in the blood.

It did not take long to catch up with the rest of their entourage. The man who had led them away - Cid - had gone off on his own, but Rikku had a destination of her own in mind and took the lead. The entire city shook and resounded with echoing gunshots and small explosions. Fires were bursting out of windows all around them as they went. Rikku finally found a subterranean stairwell and led them underground, where the troubling sounds were muted but not silenced.

They were met with very little resistance blocking their path. A Guado here and there, sometimes with a fiend or two that barely managed to slow them down. Surprisingly, it was Wakka who'd be the one to knock the Guado out, cursing under his breath each time as he did.

They were halfway along a dark tunnel, lit up only by flashing emergency lights, when a voice crackled over hidden loudspeakers: *_Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiends fedr ed!_***(17)**

"Oh no!" Rikku gasped.

"What'd he say?!" Wakka demanded.

"We have to get further underground!"

Auron stepped forward, his good eye intense with focused purpose. "_Where_ are Tidus and Yuna?"

"The Summoners' Sanctum," she immediately responded, pointing her arm further down the corridor. "This way!"

They followed deeper into the underground, encountering fewer Guado, but more fiends along the way. Eventually, despite the urgency of their quest, they paused for a breath in a large hall. Kimahri and Yusuke stood guard, crouched in preparation against any surprise attacks, their eyes watching the corridor from which they'd come.

Wakka broke the tense silence, though his gruff words did nothing to alleviate the tension. "This place is…"

"You're right," Rikku murmured, her soft voice broken and without hope. "You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed, we… We weren't always like this. Sin destroyed our island where we all used to live. After that… we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together. If we put our minds together, we could build a new _Home_. Everyone worked hard - we had our _Home_ again. But now," she ended, her voice catching. "W-why did it have to turn out this way…?"

Wakka hesitantly placed a hand to her shoulder, "Rikku…" When the blonde suddenly turned to him and leaned against his chest, he cussed. "_Damn_ those Guado!" And it was very clear that he had determined from that moment on to focus his prejudice away from the Al Bhed.

"Rikku," Lulu eventually spoke in that quiet voice of hers. "What _is_ the Summoners' Sanctum?"

The petite Al Bhed sniffled, rubbing at her eyes as she lifted her head and turned to the black mage. "The Summoners' Sanctum… is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there."

"After you kidnap them," Wakka put in, but this time without the expected venom in his accusation.

She nodded. "I-I know it's against the teachings and all that…"

But the ex-blitzball captain shook his head, "I get why you did it."

"_I_ don't."

Everyone turned toward the sound of Yusuke's low growl. The tattooed demon stared them all down, his fierce brown eyes daring them to argue and demanding an answer to the riddle. It was hard anymore to bear even the slightest distrust toward the Al Bhed, even after everything. But he still did not understand the reason behind their actions, why they had caused summoners to go missing, why Yuna and _Tidus_ were now missing.

And staring into the eyes of his companions, he could see they were surprised by the fact that he didn't know. He could practically _taste_ the sharpened feel of their shock in their auras. When the others turned away, one by one, and began again to follow Rikku's lead, Yusuke felt something cold close its fist around his core as he chased after them.

He was suddenly so very _tired_ of being left in the dark!

~o~

The Summoners' Sanctum turned out to be a very large room, shut away from the rest of the underground, its walls reinforced with metal sheets and steel beams. Yet the two summoners they found there were _not_ the two they'd come to find.

"Hello again," Dona greeted, her soft voice for once very lacking of its usual honeyed venom. "Wait there, until we have performed the Sending."

Isaaru motioned with his hand toward a line of swaddled bodies, perhaps a dozen or so fallen Al Bhed in all. "They died protecting us," he added, his gentled voice thick with checked emotion and much respect. "The least _we_ can do, is give them a proper Sending…"

While the room filled with their shifting energies for the ritual, a small boy ran up and stopped before Yusuke. The dark youth recognized him with a jolt; it was Pacce, Isaaru's youngest brother.

"What's _sacrificed_?" The boy asked. Yusuke could hear Lulu and Rikku gasp behind him, but he ignored them in favor of hearing the rest of Pacce's words: "The Al Bhed said the summoners are being sacrificed. That they shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage."

The cold fist around Yusuke's core tightened its grip. _Was that it…? Was __**that**__ what he'd been missing this whole time?_ "Somebody," he growled between clenched teeth, his clawed hands curling into tight fists at his sides. "Tell me what the _hell's_ goin' on…"

The unease from his companions' auras was very palpable; even Auron seemed reluctant to answer. But then, "The pilgrimages have to stop," Rikku's voice quietly spoke behind him. "I-if they don't, and they get to Zanarkand… They m-might defeat Sin. But then… even if they try… Tidus and Yunie _will die!_"

Sucking in a sharp hiss of breath, Yusuke whirled around, his fierce brown burning into black even as in the back of his mind Raizen gave a howl of aggrieved outrage.

Rikku must've read many things in his expression, but dared to step closer, her swirled eyes wide. "D-didn't you know…? Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. They told you, didn't they? With the Final Aeon… they might defeat Sin. But if they call it, it'll kill them. They might destroy Sin… But the Final Aeon will kill them too!" Suddenly unable to meet his fierce glare, she hid her face and collapsed to her knees. Yusuke's sharp ears could hear her muffled crying, even over the alarms and thunderous quaking outside the room.

He let loose another sharp growl, and his arm darted out, his fist catching Auron around his collar and lifting the red-robed warrior easily off his feet. His blackened eyes burned furiously. "Why the hell didn't you tell me," he demanded, a small hint of power resonating in his voice. "Why were you hidin' this from me?!"

Auron's good eye leveled its steady gaze on him.

"We weren't _hiding_ it," Wakka quickly rushed to explain.

And Lulu quietly added, "It was just… too hard to talk about…"

"Seriously," Wakka insisted. "We thought you _knew_…"

The tattooed demon shoved Auron away from him and turned on the two of them instead. "And you _let_ them do this?"

Wakka held up his hands in a placatory gesture, and Lulu had the beginnings of tears in her own wine-red eyes as she protested, "Don't you think we wanted to stop them?"

"_They_ made the choice," Wakka backed her up. "We couldn't have changed their minds if we tried!"

"They _chose_ to become summoners," Auron suddenly spoke up, "fully aware of the consequences."

From behind her hands, they could hear Rikku chokingly argue, "Summoners shouldn't have to _sacrifice_ themselves, just so the rest of Spira could be _happy_…"

"But that is _our_ choice," Isaaru's gentled voice broke in. Yusuke turned his head to find the two done at last with their Sending, the both of them standing quite calmly before the evidence of the dark youth's barely restrained pain and fury.

"We _all_ live in fear of Sin," Dona added. "You know that."

"A world without Sin," Isaaru sighed. "That is the dream of all Yevon's children…"

They broke off their reasoning as the sudden sounds of a fiend's growling interrupted them. Without hesitation, the two summoners called forth an aeon each to defend themselves. The fiery beast Ifrit came at Isaaru's calling, instantaneously joined by the frozen beauty Shiva, summoned there by Dona. The lone fiend did not stand a chance before their combined might, bursting into pyreflies within moments.

"And we will use that power," Isaaru declared, strong conviction lacing his gentled voice, "even if it means our lives!"

Yusuke felt Ifrit's gaze upon him, just as he had all those days ago in the jungles of Kilika Island. His own power-blackened eyes stinging wetly, he gave a sharp growl and shoved passed the others, racing forth and cutting his claws across the fiery beast's chest in blind, unthinking fury. Behind them, the shock and disbelief of his companions barely registered in his frayed mind. Yet the aeon Ifrit, its chest unmarked by his solitary moment of blasphemy, took the show of disrespect and did nothing. Snarling in pained frustration, Yusuke threw his claws out again. And again. He let loose of his rage, his core pulsing and Raizen's pocketed energy fluctuating; he felt the ache as a personal betrayal and sought to be rid of it, even as his mind suddenly raced with images of _his_ two summoners:

The two of them sitting away from the Besaid's bonfire, introducing themselves and telling of their impending journey…

The way Tidus had almost protested Yusuke's appointment into Guardianship in Luca…

Yuna's quivering smile as she'd requested that Yusuke never let go of his resolve…

How Tidus had tensed against Yusuke's chest when the dark youth had suggested how they might enjoy the peace once their pilgrimage was over…

Tidus and Yuna reluctantly allowing the Crusader Luzzu to meet his death head-on during Operation Mi'ihen…

At the Djose temple, Yuna accepting Isaaru's challenge of a race to defeat Sin, and Tidus' quiet plea for Yusuke to chase away his nightmares…

He suddenly felt a large hand settle upon his shoulder, and Yusuke looked up to find Ifrit staring back at him steadily. A cool touch to the small of his back had him turning his head, his eyes meeting Shiva's softened chill-blue gaze. And suddenly Yusuke remembered something more.

Tidus had tried to give the tattooed demon an escape from this terrible truth…

~o~

"_Yusuke… I acquit you of your guardianship to us…"_

_He turned, staring. The blond had turned his back to him, staring out over the clouds of pyreflies. Tidus' stance was tense, and his hands had curled into tight fists at his sides. But it was the sharpened taste of pain pooling from his aura that called to Yusuke's demon core, and the dark youth stepped close behind him, folding his arms around the blond's shoulders. Tidus tensed just a little more within his embrace, and the dark youth glimpsed him biting at his lower lip before turning his head further away. "Yusuke…"_

"_Why?" He whispered, with just a hint of a growl. "__**Why?**__"_

_Tidus gave a small shake of his head. "I can't let you see the journey's end. I don't want you to know…"_

"_Know, what?" When the blond fell silent again without explaining himself, Yusuke pulled his arms back and lightly gripped Tidus by the shoulders, turning him around. Yet Tidus still refused to meet his gaze, and the blond's teeth were biting down on his lip so hard that it looked in danger of bruising._

~o~

Yusuke took a slow, deep breath. His core pulsed with resolve, burning through the cold fist of grief that had been threatening to swallow him whole. His tattooed markings ignited into the darker, richer hue of blue ink, and he knew from their sting that his eyes were still stained with the black of Raizen's unleashed power.

He turned to his companions, who all murmured in nervous surprise at the added wildness of his already feral appearance.

"I'm going to find them," he growled, a low resonance echoing from deep within his throat. "_They will not die._"

13) _"Fru tet drec du oui?_" Al Bhed translation = "Who did this to you?"

14) "_Dryd ec fnuhk!_" Al Bhed translation = "That is wrong!"

15) "_Guado ku vun dra summoners._" Al Bhed translation = "Guado go for the summoners."

16) "_Vydran_." Al Bhed translation = "Father…"

17) *_Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiends fedr ed!_* Al Bhed translation = "Rikku! You read me? You go under, too! I am leveling Home! And the fiends with it!"


	21. Nukan!

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! For the love of God, _someone_ give me a cookie!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** When Yusuke finds himself in a world far unlike his own, the most pressing questions on his mind - how he got there, and how he might get back home - gradually take a backseat to the sacrificial urgency of his new friends' seemingly futile crusade…

**Shout-out!:** This chapter is dedicated to the ever-patient/not-so-patient Miss Taya, who is an eager reader, and a wonderful friend.

**Chapter Twenty-One - **_**Nukan!**_

After a long pause, Rikku gave a small, tremulous smile at his words and pushed to her feet. She smoothed the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. "I-I know where to go from here. My dad always had an escape plan for us Al Bhed, if we were ever under attack again."

"Lead the way," Auron immediately consented.

And so their entourage - plus four tagalongs - hurried after Rikku down a new corridor. Their path brought them to a large tunnel, which in turn opened up into a vast hangar. Housed within this hangar was an unusual white craft, its tail end equipped with what resembled a rather large boat propeller. Numerous Al Bhed were already rushing along a ramp to board the craft; Rikku led their own number to do the same.

Once inside, they weaved through the crowded-together Al Bhed populace. It wasn't difficult at all; one look at the black-eyed creature in their midst, and the Al Bhed very happily got out of the way.

Rikku then led them onto what she announced to be the bridge of the craft, which to Yusuke resembled a rather roomy cockpit of an airplane. There were two men there already: Rikku's father, Cid; and the one who had upset Rikku after the battle in Macalania. They were rushing about, their voices urgent as they shouted back and forth:

"_Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku!_"**(18)** Cid commanded.

"_Drnaa sehidac mavd!_"**(19)** Was the other's response.

"_Runno, runno! Oui ryja uha sediha!_"**(20)**

Yusuke turned to Rikku, who barely hid a flinch before his fierce gaze. Because she looked so small and innocent at that moment, and he had frightened her once already, the dark youth tried to swallow back the growl in his throat as he asked, "Where are they?"

"T-they weren't in the Summoners' Sanctum," she reminded, "which is where they would've gone if we Al Bhed had found them."

"You think they're still in the desert?" Wakka wondered, with a much-worried look.

"No," Yusuke shook his head. "I would've sensed them, the way I did to find the rest of you."

"Even _you_ couldn't have stretched your senses over the entire island," Auron gruffly challenged.

The tattooed demon's only answer was a sharp growl under his breath tossed in the red-robed warrior's direction.

They were interrupted as a third Al Bhed man raced onto the bridge, his presence capturing Cid's immediate attention. "_Ajanoiha uhpuynt?_"**(21)**

"_Ajanoiha ymeja!_"**(22)** The man reported, crossing the bridge and sitting behind a panel of controls.

Yusuke decided he'd waited long enough; he _had_ to find Tidus and Yuna. In a blur of movement, he was suddenly standing before the one called Cid, his fist closed around the man's arm in an unshakable grip. "If you're gonna get us out of here," he growled dangerously, "do it now. And your next big idea had better to be to help us find our summoners."

Though the bridge became a bubble of tension, as nearly everyone watched the confrontation with a taste of nervous fear in their auras, Cid dared to return Yusuke's glare with one of his own. "What'll you do when you find them, eh? Plan to drag them to Zanarkand and make them fight Sin, do you? You're just like the rest of them - let the summoners die so we can live in peace!"

The bridge echoed with the sound of the tattooed demon's increased growling, and shadows seemed to swirl along the walls and ceiling. White lightning crackled within Yusuke's blackened eyes; he drew back his fist and threw it forth in a barely reined-in right hook across the other man's jaw, causing Cid to fly across the floor and slam into the opposite wall. "_Fuck_ you, grandpa!" He hissed. "Don't you fuckin' talk to _me_ about lettin' someone die!"

Rikku gave a cry of dismay. Wakka and Kimahri raced forward, both grabbing Yusuke's arms and pulling him back, holding tight against his superior strength as he struggled. Auron moved in front of them, hefting his claymore and even daring to point it at the dark youth as though he intended to use it.

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, and it was obvious they would not be able to hold him for long. "You really think I can't get passed you, old man?"

"You will forgive this man's assumption and allow him to live," the warrior commanded, firmly.

"_What?!_" He snarled, having nearly freed an arm already. "_Forgive_ that bastard for -"

"We are on _his_ craft, and _he_ has our only means of escaping the Guado," Auron pointed out, a stern look in his good eye. "And if we _do_ hope to find Yuna and Tidus, this man may well provide a clue as to where to start looking."

Raizen reluctantly accepted the logic and, breathing heavily with his eyes still fixed upon the red-robed guardian in a narrowed glare, Yusuke finally ceased struggling. He relaxed against Kimahri as Wakka gave him over to the Ronso's secure hold and moved quickly away. "I wasn't gonna kill him," he muttered darkly, tossing Cid a cutting glance. "Just _hurt_ him."

Auron grunted under his breath and hefted his weapon once more upon his shoulder, turning away.

"Kimahri understands," the blue beast murmured, in that low rumbling voice of his. "He wants to break mountains to find his summoners…"

Oddly, hearing that made Yusuke feel slightly better.

The bridge suddenly shook, and the thrum of engines rousing loudly caused the metallic floor to hum in vibration under their feet.

"_Vydran!_" Shouted one of the Al Bhed, "_Nayto du ku!_"**(23)**

Cid ignored the rest of them in favor of the equally urgent matter of their escape. "_Ku! Kad ic eh dra yen!_"**(24)**

The younger man gunned the engines, even as light spilled upon the craft, revealing that the hangar doors were opening overhead. They could see sand pouring in outside the windshield, and light from the desert sun caused the glass to glare blindingly for an instant. Yusuke felt the craft stir again beneath his feet, and it was made very clear exactly _what_ kind of craft they had boarded as it slowly lifted out of the hangar into the air.

Everyone - even Yusuke - stared as they lifted even higher, unable to look away from the fiery inferno that had engulfed the machina city as it drifted further below them.

The Al Bhed at the controls sighed and shook his head. His voice was soft and gruff with much emotion as he began suddenly to sing under his breath. Though Yusuke could not recognize the words, there was no misunderstanding the tone. The others exchanged meaningful glances amongst one another, and even Cid seemed moved to join his voice to the mournful hymn.

Wakka turned to Rikku, who herself looked to be on the verge of tears. "Wh-what's going on…?"

There was a catch in her voice as she whispered, "We're… we're gonna blow up our _Home_…"

"How?" Lulu wondered, disbelieving.

It was Cid this time who answered. "With one of the _forbidden_ machina." He turned to the Al Bhed at the controls; "_Nayto? Vena!_"**(25)**

The younger man cut his singing short, absently responding, "_Nukan_," as he began flipping switches and triggers in preparation.**(26)**

There was a loud mechanical groan as their airship shook around them, and they all stared again at the windshield as nearly two dozen smoking trails flew out from all sides and darted straight for the city. The Al Bhed gunned the engines once more, and the airship jerked to life, cutting across the sky in hasty flight. It was immediately apparent that their largest priority now was to put some great distance between the city and themselves.

The airship jerked and rocked as it was thrown about by the explosion; it didn't seem likely that they could gather enough speed. Yusuke growled fiercely and flared his energy, instinctively wrapping his feral aura around the entire craft in a film of protection. The explosion continued to throw fire and debris at the airship, but the craft barely shook with the impact. Yet the tattooed demon grunted and flinched with each blow, his body feeling the damage as though physically struck with a blade or hammer. He clenched his jaw, hard, eyes narrowing as he concentrated beyond the pain until the craft could finally be piloted safely away.

When it was over, Yusuke let out a heavy breath and sagged against Kimahri's chest, the blue beast easily supporting him as he fought to remain on his feet. There was a quiet sense of elation as everyone realized they had managed to escape _and_ survive.

The Al Bhed sitting behind the controls suddenly dropped his head and mourned quite loudly for the loss of his people's home.

Tears hovering again in her own swirled green eyes, Rikku broke away from Wakka and Lulu and approached the other Al Bhed. She quietly touched a hand to his shoulder, offering a tremulous smile when he looked up. And then she tugged the silver chain free of her wrist and lightly took the other's hand, slipping it around his wrist instead. The other Al Bhed's saddened expression briefly contorted into one of guilt, and he looked up, meeting Rikku's gaze. He stood, wordlessly tugging her into his arms, and she hugged him back just as tightly.

The other Al Bhed whispered something in Rikku's ear then, something that Yusuke's sharp hearing picked up easily. And though it was in that strange dialect that the dark youth understood to be their native tongue, he knew the aggrieved but sincere apology for what it was.

"What next?" Wakka's voice hesitantly broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention.

"We use this sphere oscillo-finder," Cid answered, motioning to the large glass globe in the center of the bridge. "It maps out all of Spira, with a programmable tracking system. It can find anything. Wherever those damn Guado took your summoners, it won't be hard to go after them."

Yusuke felt his darker energy simmer beneath his skin.

"After rescuing them," Auron sharply cut in, "then what? You want to keep them safe, correct?" He crossed the bridge to confront the man before the glass globe. "Would you seek to stop their pilgrimage?"

The tattooed demon spat a profanity under his breath, wishing he had Kurama's quick and complicated intellect so that he could figure out where the red-robed warrior was going with this.

"Of course!" Cid declared, hotly. "If they continue this fool pilgrimage, they will die! Sure as if you killed them yourself." The man dared to shove a hand at Auron's chest; "No hare-brained law or teaching can send my niece and nephew to their deaths!" (Yusuke stared, remembering a conversation in the glittering forest of Macalania, and Tidus mentioning _two_ Al Bhed uncles.) "When I save them, I'll make them give up being summoners quicker than a desert melts ice!"

"Even against their will?"

"Better than a-"

Before he could finish his sentiment, an electrical alarm sounded over the bridge's speakers. The glass globe standing in the middle of the floor lit up in almost the same instant, a bright blue glow that gathered together to illuminate a point on the map of Spira.

"_Vydran!_" Rikku's brother called out from his station at the controls. "_Fa vuiht dras!_"**(27)**

"_Frana?!_" Cid demanded.**(28)**

"Looks like Bevelle," Rikku quickly answered their father. "Here, we'll show you!"

A quarter of the windshield buzzed with electric static, proving itself useful as a monitor as it displayed the vivid image of a tall russet temple surrounded by suspended bridges.

Yusuke narrowed his blackened eyes, feeling Raizen's angered frustration in the back of his mind as he picked out a gathering of over two dozen men who looked like priests, as well as another forty or so more men and women - armed with machina weapons.

The monitor showed Yuna, walking slowly along one of the bridges, her prettily mismatched eyes glistening but determined from behind the veil of white that shrouded her face. Gone was her customary kimono, the yellow bow, and the beads in her hair. Instead she was garbed in a delicate-looking white gown embossed with silvery-white veins of ivy, with petite white feathers spread out from behind the small of her back like a pair of angel wings.

She was unequivocally beautiful. Yusuke would have had to lie to think otherwise, even to himself. But it was the very obvious significance behind it all that poisoned the vision. That, and the man steadily approaching her from another bridge at her right - a man dressed in equally regal clothing, with a darkly triumphant smirk on his face.

Seymour Guado.

To make matters impossibly worse… "Where's Tidus?" Yusuke hissed when his sharp eyes could not find the blond on the monitor.

"I don't see him either," Lulu murmured uncertainly.

"I bet when we get there," Wakka suggested, "Yuna might know where to find him."

"Bevelle's defenses are top-notch," Cid muttered in response, almost to himself.

Growling, Yusuke shoved away from Kimahri. And though he did not try to close in on the older Al Bhed, his blackened eyes and tattooed markings burned with fierce purpose. "Aren't you a little old to play chicken, _grandpa_? Or are you tellin' us you can't connect the dots?"

"What?"

"Point A - we're here," he snapped, throwing a hand down to point at the floor of the bridge. Then he threw his hand toward the monitor, which had gone black. "Point B - Tidus and Yuna are _there_. And what's the fastest route between two points?"

"A straight line!" Rikku piped up, a small smile quirking her lips as she met his brief glance in her direction. Whatever she thought of him for having threatened her father earlier, it seemed he had not yet completely betrayed her trust.

Cid stared first at Rikku, and then at Yusuke. But after another handful of seconds, the Al Bhed leader's mouth stretched back in a wide grin, and he laughed out loud - a great hearty laugh that seemed to shake his entire frame. Shooting Yusuke another long glance, he announced, "I think I'm starting to like you, kid." Then, before the tattooed demon could respond, he turned around and shouted his orders:

"_Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!_"**(29)**

And Rikku's brother gunned the engines, sharply responding, "_Nukan!_"

18) "_Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku!_" Al Bhed translation = "No time! Go, go, go!"

19) "_Drnaa sehidac mavd!_" Al Bhed translation = "Three minutes left!"

20) "_Runno, runno! Oui ryja uha sediha!_" Al Bhed translation = "Hurry, hurry! You have one minute!"

21) "_Ajanoiha uhpuynt?_" Al Bhed translation = "Everyone onboard?"

22) "_Ajanoiha ymeja!_" Al Bhed translation = "Everyone alive!"

23) "_Nayto du ku!_" Al Bhed translation = "Ready to go!"

24) "_Ku! Kad ic eh dra yen!_" Al Bhed translation = "Go! Get us in the air!"

25) "_Nayto? Vena!_" Al Bhed translation = "Ready? Fire!"

26) "_Nukan_." Al Bhed translation = "Roger."

27) "_Fa vuiht dras!_" Al Bhed translation = "We found them!"

28) "_Frana?!_" Al Bhed translation = "Where?!"

29) "_Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!_" Al Bhed translation = "Set course to Bevelle! Full speed ahead!"


	22. Escape

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Escape**

Rikku left her brother's side to join the others as they got ready, her swirled green eyes alarmed and curious. "What's Seymour doing alive?" The others paused in their preparations, as she went on to wonder, "Didn't we… t-take care of him in Macalania?"

"He is dead," Auron assured. "As dead as Jyscal was. His attachment to this world kept him from the next."

Yusuke shot him a quick glance, and in the back of his mind Raizen noted the lack of doubt in the red-robed warrior's voice as well. But then a shift of energies caught his attention, and he turned away, letting himself out of the bridge.

He could sense the curiosity of his companions, could hear them cautiously following after him, but he paid them little mind. He slowly began to explore the airship, ignoring when random Al Bhed passengers flinched away from him as he passed them by. He passed through the airship's compartments, absently noting the presence of Dona, Isaaru and his brothers, and even the Al Bhed proprietor Rin, whom they had met on the Mi'ihen Highroad. He did pause when his path led him before a small stand of stairs, but only for a moment. Taking them two at a time, he turned and let out a small growl as his gaze settled upon a window.

"Now _there's_ a rare sight," Auron gruffly commented from behind them.

It was by far the largest fiend Yusuke had seen since waking in Spira. He was nearly willing to call it a dragon. It was grey and white in color, with a mix of scales and fur down its long body. It had two arms, with long talons on its hands, and a great pair of iridescent wings behind its shoulders.

"The guardian wyrm, Evrae," Lulu murmured, a touch of uncertainty in her softened voice. "The great sacred beast – the protector of Bevelle!"

Auron gave a dry chuckle, "The red carpet has teeth…"

But Yusuke only snarled, lifting a hand to flex his own clawed fingers. "_I_ got him."

Everyone stared at the tattooed demon, but eventually Rikku motioned for them all to follow her. She led along the elevated platform to a mechanical lift. It brought them up toward a pair of otherwise out-of-reach doors, and the petite blonde approached a lever on the wall.

Yusuke lightly grabbed her arm, urging her to wait a moment. Turning his still-blackened eyes to the group as a whole, his voice resonating with tightly tethered power, he hissed, "I want you all to stay back. Fighting that thing will push my control, and you'd only get hurt if you got in my way."

Wakka and Lulu exchanged a glance, while Auron tightened his grip on his claymore. But Kimahri stepped forth and silently dropped a heavy hand to the dark youth's shoulder. It was almost liberating to know the blue beast still had his back.

"I'm not giving up on you, either," Rikku softly spoke up, offering a timid smile when Yusuke turned his gaze upon her. "You've been great to me since we met, and you didn't have to be. You trusted me. So I won't stop trusting you."

"Yeah," Wakka agreed, with Lulu giving a small nod of her head at his side. "You must've saved our lives a dozen times already, ya? And… we're sorry we didn't tell you what's waiting at the end of the pilgrimage. I mean, we figured _someone_ must've told you…"

"What Wakka is trying to say," Lulu put in, "is that we understand that you're still upset. And if continuing to trust you now is the only way we can show how sorry we are for fracturing _your_ trust in _us_… It will be the least we can do."

"Yeah," Wakka said again, nodding. Rikku smiled brightly now, looking quite proud of herself, and of them.

Yusuke turned to Auron, whom he had threatened openly on more than one occasion since he'd learned the truth. The man met his gaze, his good eye steady and unblinking behind those dark shades. Yusuke's energy quieted just a little, though still simmered beneath his skin, as he waited to hear the other guardian's judgment.

Auron didn't say anything to a long moment. But then he moved, silently reaching with his free hand and himself pulling down the lever to open the doors.

Yusuke smirked, his fangs playing against his lip, and he felt Raizen's distracted approval hum within the back of his skull. Flaring his energy once more, he raced out onto the deck of the airship.

The thing Lulu had called Evrae was waiting for him, curling and furling in the air, seeming to anticipate the tattooed demon's challenge. Yusuke did not hesitate, blurring toward the edge and leaping off the deck. The collective gasps and shouts in alarm of his companions chased after him as he let loose a burst of energy and shot forth. With a sharp, scalding growl, he collided with the wyrm and dug his claws into its flesh, refusing to let go when the thing tried to throw him off.

Finally, something on which he could unleash _all_ his pent-up rage.

His blackened eyes burning, he filled his lungs with a deep breath and let loose everything – _everything_ – with an impressively beastly roar that echoed through the skies. Black lightning flashed and crackled, and his tattooed markings came alive and multiplied, shadow-like whorls that played hotly across his skin.

His powerful voice was answered by the wyrm's pain-filled screeches. It writhed and twisted in the air, trying to loose him from its back. Yusuke fired his energy from his palms, dark and demonic electricity which pulsed through the wyrm's body. The giant fiend screeched and screamed, shuddering and writhing more as the attacks passed through it without pause or mercy. Finally, the wyrm burst into thousands of pyreflies, and Yusuke plummeted freefalling through the air.

Beyond the rush of the winds whistling passed his ears, the dark youth could pick out Rikku's voice shouting urgently in Al Bhed. His eyes squinted into narrow slits, he watched the airship drop its nose and dive after him.

The echoing reports of weapons being fired were the only warning they were given, seconds before bullets and lead cannonballs flew at the airship, some even managing to hit their marks quite solidly. Yusuke was vastly relieved to hear Auron shout for everyone to drop, making themselves almost invisible targets against the deck of the airship. The tattooed demon rolled to his stomach in the air and flared his energy, slowing his descent until he was coasting alongside the now loudly groaning and heavily smoking Al Bhed craft.**(30)**

They were just over Bevelle. As their descent brought them within sight of one of the city's elevated bridges, the airship suddenly fired two large grappling cords which hooked onto and gripped one of the bridges far below. Aircraft securely anchored, the five guardians threw themselves forward and skidded down the grappling cords. Yusuke followed immediately behind, his claws scraping one of the cords loudly as he caught himself. He swung over it to slow himself to a human speed then let go, flipping in the air several times before landing on the surface of the bridge with his companions.

The Al Bhed airship released itself, cords whipping dangerously as the greatly damaged craft pulled away from enemy fire and struggled to lift itself once more behind the clouds for cover.

~o~

A large number of Crusaders and Bevelle soldiers blocked their path, each armed with machina weapons. Yusuke, his energy nearly exhausted and wanting very much to fall back on the physical anyway, took the lead with Auron as they tore through the guards and cleared the way for the rest of their companions. It was at a painstakingly human pace that they crossed along the bridge, leaving a trail of unconscious guards behind them.

As they approached the end of the bridge, they came upon a covered dais. Yusuke clenched his jaw, biting back a low growl as his gaze fell upon Seymour Guado, looking undamaged and even a little haughty, despite his very recent and violent death. But the ominous feel of the Guado's energy now had a touch of something familiarly nonhuman… The dark youth glanced over at Auron, whose expression was tense and focused as the red-robed warrior stared Seymour down.

By the Guado's side stood Yuna, her prettily mismatched eyes wide and worried. Her wrist was gripped tightly by Seymour's hand. Behind them and to the side, guarded by an armed Crusader, was Tidus. His arms were bound behind his back with rope, and his mouth was gagged. But he was not a meek or subservient captive – his fiery blue eyes were narrowed in a heated glare aimed at Seymour's back.

Auron quickly threw an arm across Yusuke's chest, just barely in time to stop the tattooed demon before he could throw himself at Seymour and get his claws into that flesh as he so longed to do. The dark youth tossed him an impatient glance. Auron shook his head, hissing, "_Stop._" He cocked his head, silently urging Yusuke to take in their surroundings.

A large number of machina rifles were aimed at the six of them, from every direction and ready to fire at command. Yusuke snarled, but did nothing yet to tempt those rifles.

It was Yuna who retaliated first. Pulling her arm free from Seymour's grasp, she suddenly conjured her staff and held it like a barrier before her, slowly backing away from the Guado.

Seymour's expression was not angered or alarmed, only vaguely curious, as he asked, "You would play at marriage, just for a chance to Send me?" He let out a mild chuckle. "Your resolve is admirable. All the more fitting to be my lovely wife."

Yusuke sucked in a sharp hiss, fighting a rise of bile in the back of his throat at the Guado's use of the word _resolve_. He remembered Yuna using that word to convince the tattooed demon to stay in their world.

But Yuna remained strong, her aura gathering together in preparation. Seymour glanced down at himself in bemusement as his form began slowly to waver in response to her magic.

"Stop!" Shouted an aged voice. A frail-looking old man, whom Yusuke recognized as the Grand Maester they had glimpsed in Luca, pushed forth from behind a few guards and approached Yuna and Seymour. Turning to the brunette, he demanded, "Do you not value your friends' lives?"

Gasping, Yuna turned to her companions. Some of the Crusaders surrounding them cocked their weapons warningly. Auron suddenly grunted in surprise, his good eye glaring down the barrel of the rifle pressed closest to his chest. The short bald maester known as Kinoc met Auron's steely defiance by nudging his rifle menacingly against the red-robed warrior's chest.

"Your actions determine their fate," Mika warned Yuna in that paper-thin voice of his. "Protect them… or throw them away."

Another of the Crusaders nudged his own rifle against Yusuke's chest this time, perhaps to make the Grand Maester's point. The tattooed demon growled, unafraid and uncaring whether his actions would get him shot.**(31)**

Yuna turned and tossed a glance over her shoulder. Her blond twin gave off his glaring at Seymour long enough to meet her gaze, and something seemed to pass silently between the two of them. Lowering her head as she turned back around, Yuna dropped her hand to her side and let her staff slip from her fingers. The blue and silver faerie staff _pinged_ down the few steps of the dais, sliding to a stop at Yusuke's feet before blurring into nothing. Digging his claws into tight fists at his sides, the dark youth looked up again.

Mika did not require Seymour or Yuna to repeat any vows. He did not tie their wrists together with a ribbon or twine, he did not have them exchange rings. Instead, he stood witness as Seymour stepped closer to Yuna and lightly gripped her by the shoulders. Yuna offered little to no resistance when the Guado took it upon himself to initiate the kiss, but it was quite obvious that the sentiment was only received and not returned. Yet watching that manipulative half-breed put his foul touch on the gentle brunette left a nasty knot in the pit of the stomach. And, glancing over Mika's shoulder, he could tell by the fiery glare in the blond's eyes that Tidus was not at all happy.

When at last it was over, Yuna took a step back and turned her head, seeming unable to meet anyone's gaze. Yusuke was likely the least surprised when Seymour immediately turned to Kinoc and calmly gave out an order:

"Kill them."

Yuna gasped, spinning around in time to watch as even more weapons were cocked and made ready. Yusuke let loose a ripping growl when a few of the Crusaders dared to bring their rifles closer, flexing his claws at his sides and mentally _daring_ any of them to pull the trigger on him.

"I _am_ sorry," the dark demon heard Kinoc say to Auron. "But it is for Yevon."

Auron's tone held a sarcastic bite as he calmly challenged, "Aren't those weapons forbidden by Yevon?"

"There are exceptions."

"_NO!_"

Yuna's voice cut through the air like a knife, startling everyone at once to turn in her direction. The pretty brunette stood with strong determination, even as her feet slowly backed her toward a large balcony behind her.

Yusuke glimpsed the fierce willpower in her mismatched eyes, and he felt something cold clench its fist around his lungs. But then something equally important caught his attention. Tidus had suddenly jerked his head forward, cracking his skull against that of the Crusader guarding him. As the other man stumbled back with a pained cry, Yusuke sensed the flare of Tidus' energy and watched as the blond conjured his jagged black sword into his hands, swiftly cutting himself free and yanking the gag from around his mouth.

Dropping the broken ropes from around him, Tidus discarded his vanishing blade and raced to his sister's side. They shared a brief look as he caught her hand in his own, and when both turned back to the crowd of soldiers before them, Tidus' eyes glinted with the same conviction as in his twin's.

"Put down your weapons," Yuna ordered, a hard edge to her voice that had never been there before. "Let them go." As though to emphasize her command, she took another step back toward the balcony, her brother automatically moving with her. One more step, and there would be nothing left for them to stand on.

Seymour gave them a long, considering look. Finally, but with obvious reluctance, he turned his head and motioned for the guards and soldiers to lower their firearms. Yusuke barely waited for them to obey, pushing passed the Crusaders to lead the others onto the dais.

"No, don't," Tidus exclaimed, causing everyone to freeze before they could come within reach.

"Leave now!" Yuna cried, urgently. "Please!"

Auron turned to Yusuke, who growled and shook his head. "I'm not leaving," he hissed, his gaze locked on the blond of the two summoners. "Not without you."

Tidus' eyes glinted, and the tattooed demon knew his message had been received – the very same that the blond himself had shouted in Yusuke's ear, just moments before the ice of Lake Macalania had shattered.

"This is foolish," Seymour remarked, unknowing and perhaps even uncaring that he was intruding onto a moment which did not involve him in the slightest. "If you fall, you will both die."

Tidus glared at him, and Yuna swiped the back of her hand across her lips with a visible shudder. Yusuke gave a hard smirk. If the situation had not been so serious, he would've felt like gloating over Seymour's failure to entrap the twin summoners.

"Don't worry," Yuna whispered, her mouth tugging in a small smile, even as her prettily mismatched eyes glistened with tears. "We can _fly_."

Yusuke's demon core squeezed painfully in his chest as he looked from one to the other of the two people he had sworn to protect. Tidus seemed to sense his hesitation, his flame blue eyes locking on the dark youth as he made one simple request:

"_Trust us_."

Searching the blond's steady but beseeching gaze, Yusuke at last felt Raizen's dark energy calm within him. The power withdrew once more into its pocket in the back of his mind, and he could feel the burn receding from his eyes, their blackened glint returning to their original fierce brown color. His claws digging into his fists at his sides, Yusuke bit his fangs into his lower lip and nodded.

Tidus' mouth quirked a little, and he stepped behind Yuna. Wrapping his arms around her stomach, he pulled his twin back in a close embrace. Both closed their eyes and tipped their heads back, and slowly their bodies followed. Yusuke fought every instinct in every fiber of his being to remain where he stood as he watched them fall over the balcony.

Seymour and a few priests ran to the edge and looked down, but Yusuke threw his senses wide, tense, waiting, waiting… _There_, he felt it, the familiar flaring of their auras as they cast their magic. A powerful _Scree_ pierced through the air, seconds before the tattooed demon glimpsed the aeon Valefor barreling down like a bullet to catch its two summoners.

Rikku suddenly raced forward. "Cover your eyes," she shouted, tossing something small at Seymour's feet. The entire dais was flooded with a bright flare of white light, and Yusuke felt the Al Bhed's small hand grip his wrist and pull him toward the bridge.

Now that those they had come to rescue were – hopefully – safe, the time had come for the rest of them to make their escape.

30) Yes, that _does_ sound familiar, doesn't it. Copycat of when Sensui did it with his sacred energy. Yusuke's older than he looks, remember, so who's to say he hasn't taught himself that trick as well?

31) Ep. 86, _The Difference Maker_.


	23. Agreed

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Three – "Agreed."**

Auron assumed the lead once again, and together the group of guardians broke into Bevelle Palace itself. The palace was really a temple, Wakka had explained to Yusuke, and within was the one place Tidus and Yuna would insist on visiting before escaping the city.

Though Yusuke had maintained complete control of himself while the beast had come out to play, and had somehow managed not to drain too much of his energy as he had done before, the tattooed demon was _exhausted_. Remarkably, this time he did not feel close to passing out – but he did feel as a human might after a _very_ long day, just holding out for a moment to slow down and breathe. He found himself yet again indebted to Kimahri, who kept a strong vigil by his side for any signs of faltering.

They ventured down into the catacombs of the palace, which were a literal labyrinth of tunnels. It seemed a single misstep would be enough to get oneself lost indefinitely. But Auron, who had been down here before, led confidently on. Eventually – _at last_, in Yusuke's opinion – they found and entered the antechamber.

A chamber that stood empty.

Clenching his jaw, Yusuke eyed the sacred chamber door. Words like _sacred law_, _blasphemy_, and _excommunication_ played across his mind, but he tossed them aside and approached the door.

"Hey!"

"Bitch about it later," he growled at Wakka. Gripping the door tight, the dark youth dug his heels into the floor and braced his back… and with a low grunt he forced the stone slab to slide upward behind its archway.

He could feel the unease of his companions behind him, but Kimahri appeared at his side and braced his own large hands under the door, nodding for Yusuke to go on through.

A very young voice singing in ominous prayer reached his ears, even before he trespassed into the sacred chamber. The room was dark, even for Yusuke's sharp eyes. But there was no mistaking the glow from the floor, softly illuminating the two summoners kneeling before it. Yet it was not they who had Yusuke freezing where he stood. It was the being who hovered over the glow in the floor, soft light passing through his form as easily as though he were nothing more than a faded silhouette.

Violet hooded vest. Saltwater-stained shorts. Ribbons of blue and red adorning a pair of slim hips… Face hidden within the shadow of the vest's hood.

It was the child who had twice visited his frayed mind after his darker energy had rendered Yusuke unconscious. The realization hit him with all the force of a continental freight train, at full speed with lights blinking and horns blaring.

The tattooed demon was being haunted… _by a Fayth?_

For a long moment, the child seemed almost to return his stare from under that shadowed hood. Yusuke knew he was recognized, just as easily as he had recognized the boy. But the Fayth did nothing to acknowledge that recognition, lowering his hooded gaze to the two kneeling in prayer before him. Dark violet light flashed, leaving the darkness in the chamber all the more potent as Yusuke peered through it to find that the boy had gone.

Both Tidus and Yuna gasped aloud, and Yusuke could actually see their auras pulse as they received the power of their newest aeon. Yuna sagged against her brother's side as she quickly fainted. The blond was only able to brace her for a moment or two before he passed out as well, and they both collapsed the rest of the way to the floor.

The feel of Auron's nonhuman aura announced the warrior's presence, seconds before he stepped around Yusuke from behind and knelt by Yuna's side.

"What are _you_ doin' in here," the tattooed demon hissed. "I mean, it's one thing for me to break the rules, but _you_–"

"I believe the Fayth will forgive me this once," Auron gruffly whispered, carefully touching a hand to Yuna's brow. Apparently deeming her well enough to be moved, he tucked his arms under the pretty brunette and lifted her up from the floor. He met Yusuke's gaze, "We're still hunted. Try not to stall our escape too long."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, himself sinking to his knee by Tidus' side as the red-robed swordsman left the chamber. Yet he could not stop himself from sparing a moment to simply look at the blond's peacefully slumbering face – for a brief handful of minutes free of the stress and troubles that so constantly haunted the flame blue eyes hidden behind those closed lids. Giving in to a strong impulse, Yusuke threaded his fingers through Tidus' tawny strands and tucked them behind an ear. His demon core pulsed contentedly, and he took the blond in his arms and pushed to his feet.

He spat a string of torrid profanities as he stepped out of the sacred chamber, finding himself and all his companions surrounded by armed Crusaders.

~o~

"The High Court of Yevon is now in session. The sacred offices of this court seek nothing but absolute truth, in Yevon's name."

"Maester Kelk Ronso," Lulu murmured near Yusuke's side, they and the rest of the guardians under armed watch in the back of the overly large room. "Leader of Kimahri's people."

Yusuke tore his gaze from the two in the isolated witness stand to give his attention to the aged Ronso giving the speech. He knew this "trial" was a farce, that the handful of maesters up on that higher-than-thou balcony were simply going through the motions. Yet he did not growl or bare his fangs or let show his impatience in any way. Instead, he kept his eyes and ears alert, waiting for the tell.

The tattooed demon focused on not letting his glare wander in the direction of a certain murderous Guado. There was _always_ a tell.

"To those on trial," – (Yusuke scoffed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.) – "believe in Yevon, and speak only the truth." The aged Ronso paused, letting his words sink in a moment before getting to the meat of the situation. "Summoners. You have sworn to protect the people of Yevon, true?"

Both Tidus and Yuna solemnly replied, "Yes."

"Then consider," he ordered in a way that suggested it was more of a request than anything else: "You have inflicted dire injury upon Maester Seymour Guado, conspired with the Al Bhed and joined in their insurrection. These are traitorous and unforgivable crimes that disturb the order of Yevon. Tell this court what possessed you to participate in such violence."

"Your Grace," Yuna began, but then hesitated.

Tidus touched a hand to his beloved twin's arm. "The real traitor is Seymour Guado," he announced, strongly. "He _killed_ Maester Jyscal with his own hands."

Kelk Ronso flinched with obvious shock at the accusation. "What is this?!"

Seymour turned and regarded him with maddening calm. "Haven't you heard?"

"Maester Seymour, himself, is dead," Yuna added.

The Guado turned ice-blue eyes upon her, his mouth turning down slightly. Seeing it, Yusuke felt his own lips peel back in a fanged smirk.

"It is a summoner's sacred duty to Send the souls of the departed to the Farplane," Lulu spoke up before the gathered maesters. "They were only doing their job as summoners."

"Grand Maester Mika," Yuna pleaded. "Send Seymour!"

The frail old man stepped forth, paper-thin voice somehow ringing throughout the large room. "Send the unsent where they belong?"

"Yes."

The old man gave a whispery chuckle. Yusuke cussed under his breath when he sensed the sudden spike of energy, and he wondered just how in the _hell_ had he missed it.

"Grand Maester Mika is a wise leader," Kelk calmly explained. "Even in death, he is invaluable to Spira."

"Enlightened rule by the dead is preferable to the misguided failures of the living," Kinoc spoke up.

"Life," Seymour added, superiorly, "is a passing dream. But the death that follows is eternal."

Mika nodded. "Men die, beasts die, trees die. Even continents perish. Only the power of death truly commands in Spira. Resisting its power is futile."

"But what of _Sin_?!" Tidus demanded hotly. Beside him, Yuna hugged his arm tightly, but he almost seemed to ignore her in favor of contesting these revelations. "We are summoners. We're on a pilgrimage to stop the death that Sin brings. Are you telling us that what we're doing in _pointless_?"

Yuna, as always, spoke in support of her blond twin. "We are not alone… All the people who have opposed Sin – their battles, their sacrifices – were they all in vain?"

"Not in vain," Mika shook his head. "No matter how many times summoners give their lives, Sin _cannot_ be truly defeated. The rebirth cannot be stopped. Yet the courage of those who fight gives the people hope. There is nothing futile in the life and death of a summoner."

Yusuke let a low growl escape, fisting his clawed hands at his sides and wondering if he could get away with killing another maester.

Beside him, he could sense Auron's own displeasure as the other warrior muttered, "Never futile… but never ending."

~o~

Yusuke scowled as one of the guards shoved a hand at the middle of his back, but did nothing to retaliate. He kept walking where ordered, his fierce brown eyes glancing occasionally toward the pretty brunette following along at his side. Though tears glistened as they streamed silently down her cheeks, Yuna's posture and stride were strong as they kept up with the Crusaders leading them away from the rest of their companions. She often brushed the back of her hand against Yusuke's wrist, as though to reassure herself of his presence, but she never let their escort know of it.

They were shoved into a dark corridor, the guards slamming and locking the door behind them. Yuna flinched, wrapping her arms about herself and worrying her teeth into her lower lip. Yusuke glared at the door for a minute or two, but decided breaking it down would only get them into more trouble. Turning to the brunette at his side, he gently placed a hand to her arm.

"You okay," he gruffly asked.

"The maesters," she whispered, brokenly. "T-they're betraying the teachings. Betraying Yevon…"

Yusuke swore. "According to _them_, they're doin' exactly what Yevon's all about. They're not betraying Yevon…" A small growl slipped out; "_Yevon_ betrayed _Spira_."

Yuna looked up, her mismatched eyes widening as she took in this new interpretation.

The tattooed demon offered a small smirk, glad he was able to distract her from her grief. He put every effort into swallowing his own hurt and frustration so that only support and sincerity could be heard in his voice. "You told me once that summoners are Spira's guiding light. Well, those maesters and _Yevon_ are too dark for Spira. As a summoner" – he very nearly stumbled over the word that time, but pressed on – "do you think you could just stand aside and let Spira's people drown in that darkness?"

She seemed to draw strength from his reasoning, pulling her shoulders back and drawing in a deep calming breath before letting it out again. Conjuring her staff into her hands, another action that seemed to give her some comfort, Yuna let a small smile paint itself bravely across her lips. "Thank you, Yusuke."

The dark youth shrugged a shoulder, not really feeling he deserved her gratitude. "You okay to go a little further?"

She nodded.

"What's our next move?"

Glancing down the long dark corridor, she considered. "I think we've been locked inside the Via Purifico…"

"The, what?"

"It's a labyrinth, beneath the city," she explained. "It's said that there's a hidden exit deeper in, but… there are supposed to be dead ends and dangerous unknown creatures blocking the way."

"More dangerous than me?" Yusuke quipped, quickly distracting her from any unsettling thoughts before they could pull her down again.

It worked; her mouth tugged in another smile. "Do you want to find out?"

"Damn right."

She giggled behind her hand, relaxed humor lingering in her eyes. He was glad that his use of profanity only ever seemed to amuse her, glad that he could use it now to keep her distracted from the bigger problems. And as long as she was smiling, Yusuke didn't have to be reminded of why she'd been so upset, or why _he'd_ been so goddamned _pissed_…

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to focus, so that she could keep going forward as well. "So, we're in a giant maze?"

"Yes."

"Think the rest of the gang were put in here with us?"

"It's a definite possibility," Yuna agreed.

"Then, let's go," Yusuke encouraged. "If there _are_ things down there, better to face them in numbers than by ourselves, right?"

~o~

Yusuke defended Yuna from large fiends on three separate occasions before the noise led Lulu and Kimahri to them. A few more attempts to navigate the labyrinth, and they found Auron as well. But the tattooed demon dug his claws into his palms in tight fists at his sides. They were not able to find Wakka or Rikku. They could not find _Tidus_. And something about this underground maze was throwing off his senses enough that he could not feel for their auras.

Kimahri set a heavy hand to his shoulder in wordless understanding, and even Auron tossed him a glance as though he might sympathize – though to look at him he seemed as stern and in command as always.

Some hours later (and Yusuke knew how long it was because he'd been counting, dammit), a cool thread brushed against the dark youth's senses. He stopped in his tracks, turning his head to the right.

"What is it?" Auron asked.

"Did any of the tunnels we tried so far have red lights down the walls?"

The red-robed warrior stepped to his side, his own good eye gazing searchingly down this new path. "No," he affirmed.

"The way out?" Lulu wondered.

Yusuke glanced at the mage, but returned his focus upon the man beside him. "I could almost swear I felt something."

"Then it _is_ the exit."

"And something else," Yusuke warned. "Someone's there, waiting for us."

"Do you think…?" Yuna began.

But he clenched his jaw, disputing her hopes with a small shake of his head. Auron saw the gesture, reading it correctly, and hefted his heavy claymore from his shoulder. Kimahri and Lulu took their cue to ready themselves as well, and Yusuke shifted closer to Yuna's side.

They cautiously made their way along the red-lit corridor. Yusuke felt his senses eventually shake off the labyrinth's distorting influence and return to thrumming silently beneath his skin and in the back of his mind. He began to breathe easier, even as they approached what he suspected would be an ambush. Muddling his spiritual awareness like that, and for so long, had been like cutting a wolf from its sense of sight. Yusuke had felt just as blind, just as… incomplete.

As though someone had cut off his arm, or leg, and he hadn't quite learned how to compensate for the loss.

The corridor opened up into a small chamber, and an open archway waiting to let them free. But standing between them and that archway, looking equally surprised to see them as they were of him, was the summoner Isaaru.

"L-Lady Yuna," he greeted, his soft voice stumbling over the syllables.

Yusuke followed at Yuna's side as she approached the man. "What are you doing here?"

The other summoner seemed with an effort to recover himself, and he replied, "We rode the airship to the Calm Lands, then came to Bevelle. That's when Maester Kinoc bade an audience. And then ordered us to 'deal with the traitors'."

Yuna's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in hurt surprise.

"You will fight us?" Auron gruffly inquired.

"He said 'we'," Lulu murmured uncertainly. "But… I don't see his guardians."

Hearing her, Isaaru answered with an added touch of sadness in his gentled voice. "The temple's orders _are_ law, but I could not ask my brothers to bear witness. I will do this… unhappy deed, myself."

Yuna lowered her hand and took a breath. Yusuke watched as she conjured her faerie staff into her grasp. "A summoner's duel?"

The man seemed to draw strength from her quiet acceptance of his task. Into his own hand he conjured a rod of pewter, tipped on both ends with a shard of twisted steel. "Agreed."

**Special Note from the Author:** I hereby declare a quickie contest! (This is a shameful plug for more reviews, but oh well. -winks-) As my most loyal readers must be aware, the next chapter will have the scene we've ALL been waiting for, so to celebrate I challenge my reviewers to guess which song I will use. Guess the artist who sings it, you'll get an honorable mention. Anyone who guesses song AND artist will have the pleasure of having the next chapter dedicated to them! -confetti!-


	24. Just In Case

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Just In Case…**

The contest of aeons was over in minutes. After it was over, Isaaru seemed somewhat relieved by his own defeat. He quietly confirmed the exit was directly ahead of them, and did not protest when they each passed him by on their way out.

They found themselves coming out onto a bridge leading out of the city itself. And they were joined by their missing companions.

"Yunie!" Rikku shouted, a slight squeal in her voice as she raced forward and hugged the brunette summoner tight. "We were so worried!"

Yuna let out a soft sigh, though her mouth tugged in a small smile as she lifted her arms to return the embrace. "I'm glad to see you're all right, too."

Wakka joined Lulu and Kimahri, his eyes seeming to linger on the black mage a few times while they discussed what had happened while they'd been separated. Auron set a hand on Tidus' shoulder, the blond calmly assuring of his well-being before the red-robed warrior moved on to invite himself into the other guardians' discussion. Rikku finally released Yuna, who immediately went to her brother and took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together.

Tidus sifted the fingers of his free hand through her soft strands and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She slipped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. As he held his beloved twin tight, his fiery blue gaze strayed toward a certain tattooed demon.

Yusuke's core clenched within his chest as those eyes fell upon him, but he offered a slow half-smirk in answer.

But then he felt a stab of too-familiar ominous energy, and Yusuke whirled around to find Seymour approaching them, with Kinoc and a handful of Guado in tow. His fierce brown eyes narrowed as they took note of Kinoc's toes hovering several inches from the floor, seconds before the maester was thrown before Auron's feet.

The red-robed warrior gripped the hilt of his claymore tight, a dark and dangerous light flickering across his good eye as he stared down at the unmoving body. "_Kinoc!_"

"I have _saved_ him." A soft, patronizing chuckle reached their ears, and they all looked up to find Seymour gazing at them with a careless smirk painted across his mouth. "He was a man who craved power. And great power he had, but he feared losing it." He glanced down at the man, "Trembling at unseen enemies, he spent his days scheming petty schemes. Chased by his fears… never knowing rest." Looking up again, his gaze touched upon the twin summoners and before settling on Auron. "Now, he has no worries. He has been granted sleep eternal."

Auron's glare darkened even further. Yusuke could hear the leather around the claymore's hilt protesting as the hand gripping it clenched and flexed, and the other guardian's aura flared in a show of silenced temper.

But Seymour was not done: "Death is a sweet slumber. All the pain of life is gently swept away. So you see, if all of life were to end in Spira, all suffering would end. Do you not agree?"

_**Why**__ do the bad guys always like to hear themselves talk?_ Yusuke slowly braced his feet apart in a subtle crouch.

"That, Lady Yuna, is why I need you. Come with me to Zanarkand, the lost city of the dead. With death on our side, we will save Spira, and for this… I will take from you your strength, your life, and become the next Sin."

_Wait._

_ What?_

"I will _destroy_ Spira! I will _save_ it!"

Yusuke growled low in his throat and shook his head, chalking up the Guado's nonsense to a bout of undead insanity. Kimahri apparently agreed, suddenly racing passed Yusuke and thrusting his spear forth. Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku cried out in surprise as the spear pierced Seymour's chest.

But the Guado maester did not flinch, or give any other indication of feeling any pain. He said, simply, "Unpleasant." Then he gripped Kimahri's spear and shoved it further into his own chest, before ripping it out and tossing it at the Ronso warrior. "Very well. I will give you your death. You seem to want it so." The ominous feel of his aura flared, pyreflies appearing from nowhere to swirl about his body and coat his form with a thick layer of silvery dust which seemed literally to soak into his skin, even as he lifted up from the floor to hover about in the air.

Kimahri hefted his spear at the ready, glancing to his right when Yusuke moved closer to his side and readied his stance. The dark demon smirked at Kimahri, lifting a hand and making a show of flexing his claws. The blue beast gave a sharp nod of his head. The two of them attacked Seymour together, spear and claws tempting the maester's ensorcelled rage, in a fair imitation of their fight in Besaid so long ago. Yusuke, light on his feet and coming in from every direction; and Kimahri, a stoic force with a straightforward approach.

And then Auron was there as well, with heavy blows by his claymore. Lulu threw her fire spells and shards of lightning. Wakka and Rikku flanked Tidus and Yuna, the two of them using grenades and an energy-laced blitzball to attack Seymour from a distance.

Seymour seemed to have acquired darker magics since his death. However, it became very obvious that dying must have stripped him of his ability to summon, for Anima never made an appearance. Yusuke gave a hard smirk as he realized this, grabbing Auron's sleeve and yanking the other out of the way of a stream of crackling black energy.

No Anima, no backlash. No crippling headaches.

Seymour fought like a man without fear – for what was there left for him to be afraid of, now that he was dead? His power was not dismissible. Yet eventually the battle turned, and it looked as though he would lose to them a second time. At the very last instant, however, just when Auron raced forth to strike a final blow with his claymore, wisps of pyreflies swirled around the Guado's form and engulfed him in shadow. And then the shadows fled, taking him with them.

Yusuke dug his claws into his fist, promising himself that it wasn't over.

Auron barked at everyone to run, and together the companions escaped the city of Bevelle.

~o~

The trees of Macalania were just as mystical and mysterious as their last venture into the frozen forest, tiny flakes of shimmering dust drifting toward the ground and catching the otherwise elusive moonlight as they fell. The forest itself seemed to welcome their return, the very air tasting of peace and comfort.

As soon as they'd found a secluded clearing in which to set up camp, Auron turned back and retraced their steps for any signs of pursuit. Wakka made a half-hearted suggestion about starting a fire, though they all knew no such thing would happen. None of them were overly eager to draw the pursuit directly upon their heels. They sat in a circle, close enough to almost touch their shoulders to each other, and waited silently for Auron to come back with any news or idea toward their next move.

Yusuke did not sit in the circle. He stood at Kimahri's back, facing out toward the trees that would lead away from the clearing. His senses were cast in a wide dome of awareness around them, and he was carefully examining each and every thread – his own means of assuring himself that they were safe for the time being.

The wait for Auron's return stretched on. Yuna eventually grew tired and fell asleep. As did Rikku, who had discovered a very convenient pillow in Wakka's shoulder. Lulu was the one to quietly point this out to the redhead, who gently helped the petite blonde to curl on her side on the ground instead. By unspoken consensus, Wakka and Lulu lay themselves on the ground as well, though their eyes remained open and alert for Auron's return.

Tidus, however, apparently decided he would not rest, rather pushing to his feet and leaving the clearing for the adjacent bit of space across a path worn into the grass. Kimahri made as though to follow. Yusuke quickly grabbed his shoulder, stopping the blue beast. Their eyes met. Kimahri gave a single nod, settling again. Yusuke gave the barest smirk, turning and shadowing after the blond summoner, drawing his awareness in tight as he left the waiting to his other comrades.

_~Broken pieces, break into me~_

_~So imperfectly, what you should be~_

When he found Tidus, the blond was standing ankle-deep within the edge of a pool of water. His eyes were downcast, and he stood almost perfectly motionless. Yet Yusuke sucked in a hiss of breath at the feel of desperate anger pulsing off of the blond in waves. The tattooed demon slowly stepped closer.

Tidus' spine tensed. "Y-Yusuke…?"

"Yeah," he gruffly answered, and watched as the new tension fled the blond as quickly as it had come. "I wasn't happy with the idea of lettin' you run off alone like that."

_~I don't want you to go~_

_~Don't want to see you back out in the cold~_

_~Air you're breathing out fades you to grey~_

_~Don't run away~_

"I'm sorry," Tidus murmured, not yet turning to meet his gaze. He took a half-step forward, gently disturbing the water around his ankles, then stilled again with a short sigh. "I didn't want to upset Yuna or alarm the others…"

_~Find me…~_

Nodding, the dark youth quietly moved close behind Tidus and folded his arms around the blond's shoulders. Tidus tensed just a little more within his embrace, and he bit at his lower lip before turning his head further away. But not before Yusuke glimpsed the tell-tale gleam trailing from those flame-blue eyes. Clenching his jaw, the tattooed demon pulled him tighter against his chest. "What did it?" He whispered, his voice thick as he let Tidus' pained aura wash over him. "What finally pissed you off this much? Was it the maesters? All their bullshit about following the path of Yevon?"

"No," Tidus shook his head, a dark and heavy weight to his voice that had rarely let itself be known before. "It was Seymour. Not that he avoided moving on to the Farplane – twice, now. Not that his influence has corrupted the Higher court. Not even that he seems to believe that the only way to save our world is to drown it in blood…" He drew a deep breath, trapping it in his lungs for a moment before letting it out with almost inaudible whimper as he slipped from Yusuke's arms and sank to his knees in the shallow water. "It was that he set his hands and his… _mouth_… on Yuna. It was clearly unwanted, I could see it, and I know she only accepted him to save us." He muttered under his breath, and Yusuke's eyes widened a fraction as his sharp ears detected the cutting profanity. Tidus threw his fist down, the shallow water jumping up around his wrist in reaction; "And _I_ just stood there and couldn't do _anything_ to stop him!"

_~I know the battles of chasing the shadows~_

_~Of who you wanna be~_

The need to punish oneself, and the feeling of bleak helplessness upon finding nothing to take it out on… Yusuke definitely understood. Sighing, he moved until he stood before Tidus, offering his hand down when the blond summoner looked up. Wordlessly urging him to his feet, the darker youth met and held those fiery blue eyes as he slowly urged Tidus to follow him deeper into the pool.

_~It doesn't matter, go on and shatter~_

_~I'm all you need~_

The water lapped gently at their waists, and Tidus fisted the folds of Yusuke's tunic, pulling himself to the tattooed demon's chest. He rested his forehead against Yusuke's shoulder, and Yusuke clenched his jaw, lifting his arms up around the blond summoner and holding him close. Yusuke tipped his head back, glaring at the infinite number of winking stars high overhead and silently cussing out Koenma or Yevon or whichever deity saw fit to test someone this broken and pure with so much suffering.

_~Broken pieces, break into me~_

_~So imperfectly, what you should be~_

_~Lay here, it's safe here, I'll let you be broken open~_

_~Hide here, confide here, so we can be broken open~_

When Tidus lifted his tear-glistened eyes to meet Yusuke's gaze, the dark youth felt his core pulse with an ache that spread to his very toes and fingertips. Swallowing, Yusuke brought his hand up and cupped the blond's cheek, sweeping his thumb across Tidus' skin to smooth away the blond's tears. His attention was only vaguely distracted by the silvery sheen left in his thumb's wake, small evidence of the mystical qualities in the water of the pool. Instead, he found himself lured into those shining flame blue eyes which seemed to bore into Yusuke like never before. And then Tidus' gaze dropped to Yusuke's mouth, and the tattooed demon felt a flash of heat wash through him in response.

_Not_ his world, a small voice hissed in the back of his mind in regretful reminder. He had _no_ right—

But then Tidus' lips were on his, pressing, questing, soft as velvet, and it was every bit as forbidden as Yusuke had thought it would be, _and Yusuke's restraint shattered_. He buried the fingers of his hand into the blond's tawny strands and kissed him back. He dropped the shields from around his core, letting free the desperate need he had been packing down in the deepest pit of his stomach until then. The blond sucked in a sharp breath, and Yusuke took the opportunity to send his tongue forth and explore that slick cavern. Want seared through him again as he felt Tidus shiver against him, and he gripped the blond, pulling him even closer.

_~Let's enlighten the night~_

It was Tidus who broke the kiss he had started, gripping Yusuke's tunic tighter and burying his face against the cove of the tattooed demon's neck. Yusuke held the blond summoner caged in his arms, content to allow himself to pretend for just a moment longer.

_~We can fall away, slip out of sight~_

Eventually, however, the very real problems of the outside world came knocking. Tidus stirred against his chest, his breath warm against Yusuke's neck as he released a world-weary sigh. "I can't undo what Seymour did…"

Tossing another glare toward the stars above, Yusuke answered just as quietly. "Probably not…"

"What if it breaks her," the blond whispered.

"From what I saw," he reluctantly admitted, "your sister looked more affected by Yevon's betrayal."

"Yevon…" Tidus turned his head, and the dark demon felt the slightest brush of lips against his neck. "Yusuke… Rikku told me… You know the truth now."

_~When you drop your guard, melt into time~_

_~So intertwined~_

_Ah, hell, not this._ He passed his fingers through Tidus' hair in slow repetition, letting himself be distracted for a moment by the way the mystical water gave those tawny strands a faint silvery sheen. "…Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Tidus offered simply, though his voice rang softly with every sincerity. "For hiding it from you."

Yusuke shook his head; "I know why you did."

_~Quiet…~_

Tidus lifted his head, something akin to new resolve burning in those flame blue eyes as he met Yusuke's gaze. "I have to keep going. Yuna and I, we… we can't abandon our pilgrimage."

The tattooed youth let go of his handful of pale blond strands to pass the backs of his knuckles along Tidus' cheek and cup the back of his neck, absently massaging the tense muscles there. Eyes narrowing, he pinned Tidus under his piercing brown gaze. "…I'm still coming with you."

Tidus' eyes widened.

_~I know the battles of chasing the shadows~_

_~Of who you wanna be~_

_~It doesn't matter, go on and shatter~_

"I'll be _damned_ if I had to leave you now," he swore fiercely. He clenched his jaw, determined to make himself understood. "But I want you to know something. I am _not_ going to stand back and watch you two die."

"Yusuke…"

"_No_, damn it," he hissed. "I know what the hell I'm talking about. You _don't_ have to die to save the world. And I'm gonna find a way to prove it to you."

_~I'm all you need~_

A weighted silence fell over them in the wake of his words. Tidus stared at him for a long minute, then lifted a hand to his mouth, teeth catching the tip of his middle finger and tugging until the black glove slipped free.

The feel of the air surrounding them was potent with some indefinable meaning, as Tidus caught the leather in his other hand and lifted his ungloved hand so that Yusuke could clearly see the band of silver embracing his middle finger. The soft glow from the glimmering trees around them and the shimmering pool played across its smooth surface, broken only by the white runes carved in a single script along the silver band.

"Give me your hand," he murmured, slowly tugging the ring from his finger. Without waiting for Yusuke to comply, he grabbed the tattooed demon's hand and slipped the ring onto his finger instead.

"Tidus…"

The blond squeezed his hand, meeting Yusuke's dark gaze with his own. Those fiery blue eyes gleamed with the whisper of something new. "Please, Yusuke…"

_~Broken pieces, break into me~_

His demon core pulsed and, following its thrum, he caught the blond's ungloved hand in his own. Meeting Tidus' gaze and holding it, he brought the hand to his mouth and closed his lips around previously ringed finger. When he was not met with resistance or repulsion, the dark demon bit down into the base of Tidus' finger, exactly where the ring had once rested. Tidus sucked in a quiet breath but did not pull away. Those eyes clouded over; reading their message clearly, Yusuke gave a low guttural growl in answer and swallowed the tangy iron of the blond summoner's blood. Releasing the finger, he lowered their hands until Tidus' bleeding finger was submerged in the shimmering water still lapping at their waists. The bitten skin stitched itself together instantly.

_~So imperfectly, what you should be~_

Tidus grabbed Yusuke's tunic again and kissed him fiercely. Yusuke growled again, pulling the blond tight against him and plundering that tempting mouth as he felt Tidus' aura and his own come together and wash over them both in a blanket of heat and want. Yusuke smirked when they at last broke apart, taking the forgotten glove and slipping it again over the blond summoner's hand. A quiet chuckle escaped Tidus as he grabbed Yusuke's wrist and led the dark youth out of the pool.

Yusuke followed out of the clearing and back toward their companions' campfire. At his side, his free hand tightened into a careful fist around Tidus' ring. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of his demonic core, he wished it could only have meant that Tidus wanted him for his own. And yet, though he now knew the blond's feelings for him, even Raizen murmured in the back of his mind in sorrowful acceptance of the crueler meaning behind Tidus' gift.

_Just in case_, the ring would echo whenever he looked at it now.

In case Yusuke couldn't find a way to keep his word. In case there really wasn't a way to avoid the summoners' sacrifice. In case Yuna and Tidus looked upon their last and never drew another breath… The ring would serve as a reminder of this night, this one desperate moment already tinged around the edges with what-if's.

_~Lay here, it's safe here, I'll let you be broken open~_

_~Hide here, confide here, so we can be broken open…~_

_Just in case…_

**A/N:** "Broken Open," by Adam Lambert.


	25. Into the Ravine

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Five – Into the Ravine**

The next day, Auron led everyone out of the glittering forest and to the edge of a vast open grass valley. Looking over it from a small cliff along the edge, Yusuke could see fiends grouped together in certain areas, some wandering around on their own, what appeared to be an exit far on the other side of the valley itself, and a modest-looking tented construction smack-dab in the middle.

Lulu, standing to the other side of Wakka, began to speak to no one in particular – or, perhaps, to all of them. "Long ago, the High Summoners fought Sin here. The road ends here. Beyond, there are no towns, no villages. Only endless plains."

And though her words did not require a response, Auron gave one anyway. "Many summoners stray from their path and lose their way here."

Yusuke could believe it. He could see how anyone thinking to cut across the valley could diverge from their path even without knowing, especially if they were to encounter a fiend or three along the way.

But Yuna, quiet and with a thoughtful expression on her face, gazed up at the skies for several long seconds before suddenly throwing her arms wide and letting herself fall back on the grass. In her prettily mismatched eyes were no signs of worry or nerves. Instead, her chest expanded with a great breath, which she held for a moment before breathing out again. "Tidus and I… have always known where to go…"

Yusuke glanced at the blond in question, who nodded in solemn confirmation to her words. His demon core giving a single pulse within his chest, he turned back to Yuna and stepped closer to the brunette's side. When her gaze turned to him, he offered his hand to her. "I've already made this promise to your brother. But I'll say it again for you: I am _not_ gonna let you two die."

After a moment, she sat up. Her mismatched eyes fell upon the silver ring on his finger, and she quickly glanced up. Yusuke clenched his jaw, but made no effort to deny anything. Her mouth tugged in a smile – small, but genuine – and she took his hand in hers, letting him pull her to her feet. Then she surprised him by throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight. Blinking, he slowly lifted his own arms around her and returned her embrace. When she pulled away, her smile was stronger, and she even kissed his cheek before moving to join her brother's side.

Yusuke's expression must've made his shock obvious, because Auron's gruff voice was laced with a hint of amusement as the red-robed warrior gave the order to keep moving.

Only Rikku lingered behind the others, her swirled green eyes wide and just this side of hopeful as she whispered, "_Ruf?_"**(32)**

He didn't need to know Al Bhed to understand her question. Clenching his jaw as he and the blonde followed after the others, the tattooed demon hissed, "I'm workin' on it…"

~o~

They descended the cliffside toward the grassy fields, Yusuke taking distracted note of a large transport-looking machina parked near a cliff wall, manned by a couple Al Bhed. Though the valley was filled with wild fiends of every kind, some which Yusuke had never seen before, very few challenged their trespass. Yusuke's aura had darkened since Bikanel Island, he knew this – he would've been surprised if many of the fiends were daring enough to approach him now.

About a quarter of the way across the valley, they met a familiar face. Yusuke did not feel as surprised as he perhaps should have when he recognized the summoner Belgemine.

The woman pushed away from the stone spire she'd been resting against, a slim brow quirked as she looked them over. "Well, now. You're quite the notorious traitors, aren't you?" But then a corner of her mouth twitched in quiet amusement at her own words, and she gave a soft laugh, shaking her head in dismissal of the very idea. "Oh, you shouldn't take what the maesters say too seriously. For summoners, destroying Sin is everything." She let her gaze settle upon Tidus and Yuna, adding, "We are no tools of Yevon."

The descendents of Braska nodded their agreement.

"Are you up to the task?"

Yuna shyly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear; "We don't know…"

"But we will find out," Tidus added with fiery determination.

"You've both got spirit," Belgemine approved. "But you'll need more to defeat Sin."

Yusuke lightly grabbed Rikku by the wrist, pulling her with him as he and the other guardians made room for the inevitable duel of aeons. Rikku looked curious for a moment or two, but seemed to catch on quickly enough when the frozen beauty Shiva came at Belgemine's call. To answer her challenge, Tidus took his sister's hand and conjured his jagged black sword into his other fist. He threw his fist above his head, as though to puncture the very air with his blade, and high overhead the skies ripped apart with an explosive sonic boom.

Their new aeon dug its powerful claws into the earth as it landed. It stood at twice the height of the fiery beast Ifrit, a large silvery blue aeon that stood on its hind legs with its strong arms crossed over its broad chest. It was a dragon, Yusuke realized with a start, taking in the sight of its sharp scales and great wings. Hovering behind its back, just between the arches of its wings, was a large golden disc which spun slowly in one direction or the other in an almost absent manner.

Yusuke received another surprise when that aeon briefly met his stare with ghostly white eyes and gave a slight dip of its head in acknowledgement. And his demon core clenched within his chest as the pieces fell together and he realized that _this_ – this was the aeon of the Fayth in Bevelle.

The one that had haunted him with its cryptic messages.

Belgemine called the duel to start. Shiva immediately threw up a wall of ice before her and coated herself in a film of frozen air. But the new aeon bellowed out a roar worthy of its dragon appearance, instantly shattering the ice. The very sound waves of that roar seemed to affect Shiva herself, for she had lifted a hand to lightly touch her brow as though weakened and dizzy. The new aeon narrowed its eyes at her, rushing forth in a blur of movement to stand over her. Shiva immediately threw up in her hands in defense, a flat disc of ice and snow appearing over her in an attempt to barrier her from her attacker. The new aeon swung its fist, shattering that bit of magic as easily as the first.

The difference in power level was obvious. Shiva stared up at her opponent in resigned defeat, but the larger aeon simply stood there a long moment before offering its hand down to her. With a slight smile, the frozen beauty accepted the assistance to stand, rising to her feet with all the grace of a mythical goddess. Then Yusuke watched in utter surprise as the larger, more monstrous aeon bowed to her like a gentleman, and the two aeons dismissed themselves in a blurring wave of fading colors.

"Impressive," Belgemine smiled after the aeons had gone. "Remarkable talent. Traitors or no, you may have what it takes to defeat Sin."

Yuna's cheeks flushed with a bit of color. "Thank you…"

"I think you will do just fine," she went on. "But if either of you still feels unsure, dare to seek the temple of Baaj."

Tidus was quiet a moment, before venturing, "Baaj…?"

She nodded. "Fall back to the teachings, the _true_ teachings. Trust in the Fayth, and they will put their faith in you."

Yusuke tensed. Something in the way those last words had been spoken caused his demon core to stir with ominous premonition. It sped to a near-human beat for a handful of seconds, as though recognizing something in Belgemine's advice that his sharp ears had not yet caught on to. The older summoner offered a small smile to the group as a whole, bowing to Tidus and Yuna before stepping passed them all on her way elsewhere once again.

Auron cleared his throat, reminding them all that they still had a way to go, but Rikku excitedly pointed toward a rise in the ground – where stood a small building not unlike the one they had found along the Mi'ihen Highroad. An Al Bhed outpost. No one commented that it was Wakka who stepped forward first, joining Rikku in approaching what might have been the last safe resting point their entourage would find in a long while. It was quite obvious that the fiasco on Bikanel Isle had opened his eyes very wide indeed; the ex-blitzball captain seemed determined to make up for his earlier prejudice by acting as though it had never existed.

While Auron negotiated with the woman in charge of the outpost to replenish their supplies and check for news from Rikku's father, the others idled about and conversed amongst one another. Yusuke unerringly sought a certain blond summoner, who paused a conversation with his soft-spoken twin long enough to smile at the dark demon and grasp his hand. Yusuke's core tightened as he felt his fingers press closer together around Tidus' ring, and he mentally swore on Raizen's darker energy that he would _change_ this expedition's forewarned finale.

"Father Zuke," Lulu suddenly gasped, drawing everyone's attention to a man in priest's robes who was approaching the outpost.

"Long time, no see," Zuke greeted, revealing with those few words some history with the mage. Then, as though belatedly noticing whom Lulu was traveling with, the man turned and addressed the twin summoners: "You are Braska's, yes? Yuna, and Tidus?"

The two nodded.

His expression turned considering. "You… certainly don't look like Maestor Kinoc's murderers…"

The group flinched as a whole. Tidus' hand tightened around Yusuke's, as though to hold him back, while Auron stepped forth and dared to glare at the priest. "Tell us what happened."

Zuke looked the red-robed warrior over, though his eyes remained passive and without judgment. And he replied, "Maestor Mika has issued a personal order. It's been rumored the lot of you murdered Maestor Kinoc and fled. We are to kill you on sight. Or so it says," he ended with a small shrug, a signal that he was not one who would hold to such an order.

"What of Bevelle?" Auron requested a bit more respectably, now that it had been made clear that their group was not in danger from the man.

"Things are calm on the surface," the priest nodded, "but the depths are turbulent. After the death of Maestor Kinoc, Kelk Ronso left Yevon."

Auron scoffed, immediately looking at it through a tactical point of view. "Convenient. Getting around will be easier with Yevon in disarray."

"I can only suggest that you take extreme care. You have been branded enemies of Yevon." He sighed, "You… should probably avoid temples for the time being."

Yuna bowed deeply. "Thank you, Father Zuke, for your warning."

"Father," Lulu quietly spoke up. "You came all the way here, just to tell us this?"

He chuckled, not unkindly. "To tell the truth, I was a little curious to see these summoners you are guarding. I hope their pilgrimage goes well. For your sake, as well as theirs."

She dipped her head, unable for a moment to watch as the man turned to leave, though she murmured her thanks after him.

~o~

With the Calm Lands behind them, they came upon a pair of bridges stretched over a ravine. Yusuke was perhaps the least surprised when their path was blocked by a couple of Guado foot soldiers. It might have been hypocritical of him to suspect an entire race on sight,**(33)** but they were only bringing it upon themselves.

_This is why I hate politics._

"Halt!" One of the Guado shouted. "Summons from Lord Seymour. Come with us."

Yuna stepped forward, her brother close to her side. Her pretty mismatched eyes sparked with new bold defiance. "We have nothing to discuss with Maester Seymour."

"Lord Seymour's commands must be obeyed. You will come!"

"I warn you," the second Guado spoke up, as the earth below their feet began to tremble. "The maester doesn't need you alive."

The ground shook again, and Yusuke stared as a stone golem marched out of the ravine. It stood larger than a bear, its movements slow and laborious and grinding stone against stone. The tattooed demon flinched a few times, the sound grating against his sensitive ears.

"A mecha!" Lulu gasped.

Yusuke turned sharply to her; "A, what?"

"It's a perversion," Auron gruffly spat from his other side. "An unholy mix of fiend and machine."

"Without a soul," Tidus softly added behind them.

The dark demon glanced over his shoulder at the blond, a look laced with meaning, and Tidus nodded. Turning again to the golem, he gathered a fistful of energy and threw it at the creature. His shotgun energy exploded repeatedly upon contact, joined by the fiery explosions of Rikku's grenades. Yusuke shot the petite Al Bhed a quick glance, his smirk widening as he caught her admiring the explosions' multiple colors. Lulu added her magic into the mix, tossing forth fire and thunderous bouts of dark-hued light. The combined force of their attacks eventually became too much for the golem, which fell heavily to the ground in its defeat and lay unmoving.

Yusuke's fierce eyes narrowed as he glared down at the creature, clenching his jaw around a relieved sigh when it did not fade into a cloud of pyreflies. The two Guado that had brought it here were nowhere in sight. Straightening to his full height and rolling the tension from his shoulders, he fell to the back of the group as Auron took up the lead once more. Yet as they began to cross the bridge, he paused and glanced down into the mouth of the ravine below, his companions none-the-wiser as they continued on without him.

A single pulse of ominous energy met his curiosity, and his core keened softly in response to the call. There was something down there, a dark sort of power not unlike his own. And it was calling to him.

"Yusuke…?"

His senses withdrew back into him like the snap of a rubber band, and he blinked, looking up to find Tidus watching him curiously. He should have anticipated the blond noticing his absence first, and of course Tidus would double back to check on him, even without the knowledge or consent of their companions. Wordlessly, the tattooed demon cut a glance toward the depths of the ravine below.

Tidus glanced that way as well, his fiery blue eyes widening perceptively. "You feel something down there?"

"Yeah," was his gruff reply. "Old. And wild… Like me."

With a start, the blond summoner swiftly approached and grabbed his wrist. His voice dropped to an urgent whisper, as though after _everything_ voicing his fear aloud would be too great a challenge. "_Don't leave me…_"

Yusuke flinched, the plea hitting him like a blow to the chest. He shook his head; "It doesn't feel like something that could steal me back to my world."

"Are you sure?"

Hesitating, searching those eyes, those _damned_ eyes like blue fire that had caught him from the first moment he'd looked into them and had held him captive ever since… Yusuke Urameshi could not deny a small flicker of doubt. "No." He sighed, "I'm not."

Tidus stared at him for a minute, then slowly nodded his head. "Then I'm coming with you."

"What," the dark youth stammered. "No, I–"

But the blond only swept forth and kissed him. His gaze was still burning with the fear that hovered like a dark cloud in the back of both of their minds. "Please. If it _does_ take you away, I…"

Hissing a cutting profanity under his breath, Yusuke pulled Tidus into his arms and devoured that mouth in a private show of shared desperation. He could feel the blond's hands fist tightly around the folds of his tunic, and he responded by tugging him even closer. Tidus parted his lips in invitation, and the tattooed demon immediately explored the slick cavern offered to him.

It was a long minute before they drew even slightly apart, and even then Tidus had a firm grasp around Yusuke's hand. Yusuke finally gave a small nod and began to lead the way into the ravine.

32) _"Ruf?"_ Al Bhed translation = "How?"

33) Refers to Yusuke standing up against the judging of the entire demon race, simply over the dieting choices of some versus others. Episodes 96-97.


	26. Cries for Battle

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Six – Cries for Battle**

They stood a moment before the mouth of a cave, the wind whistling passed in a way that caused a ghostly moan to echo deep within the pit of the darkened caverns. It was an eerie, haunting sound that hummed against their eardrums and brought a small chill to their spines. Yusuke, clenching his teeth and drawing his energy in tight in response to his more primal instincts, shared a glance with Tidus and cautiously led the way in. Even he could not deny that this would likely be counted among the stupider things he'd done, in a very long list of stupid.

_Hiei was right_, he caught his own thoughts commenting randomly as the last fingers of daylight faded behind them. _It really __**must**__ be dumb luck that I'd survived so long…_

He felt Tidus' fingers tightening around his own, and he tossed the blond a brief quirk of his lips that did nothing to reassure either of them. The spiritual pressure only continued to grow, the further they dared explore, and they were yet uncertain what it was they would find at the heart of this cave. The tattooed demon admitted only to himself that he had very little clue what it was they were even looking for.

Fiends tried to intercept them at every turn, which in turn kept them tense and on alert. But, though they rested a handful of minutes after each attack, they did not pause for long. Whatever was down there, it hadn't stopped calling out. And Yusuke – gods help him – was determined to understand why.

They eventually found themselves standing before a dead end, a cave-in of loose boulders the size of small cars. Tidus quickly grabbed Yusuke's wrist when the dark youth made ready to fire his spirit gun to remove the blockade.

"Whatever we're looking for could be on the other side," the blond quietly pointed out.

Nodding, Yusuke instead set about the laborious task of pulling the stones free. Tidus helped, deceptively strong for a human of his compact size, but only able to remove boulders less than a quarter the size the tattooed demon brought out of their way.

As the last of the blockade was removed, and they stepped cautiously into the revealed chamber, they discovered old torch pots covered in dust and cobwebs and sitting ominously in a half-circle around a large hole in the ground. Nestled within the hole was a chipped and cracked stone statue depicting the merging of a man with the over-hanging branches of a bare tree. The mouth of the hole was warded over by a netting of sigils and sutras.

"A Fayth," Tidus breathed, touching a hand to Yusuke's shoulder for support.

The tattooed youth clenched his jaw solemnly, aware of Raizen's pocketed presence shaking its head in troubled acceptance in the back of his mind. "This is what's been calling to me," he gruffly agreed. "Can you wake it…?"

The blond was silent for a moment longer, but then let his hand slip away and stepped closer to the wards. He brought a hand to his own chest and bowed his head, sinking to his knee; Yusuke felt Tidus' aura pulse as the blond chanted a prayer under his breath.

The walls of the chamber shook and groaned in response to the summoner's chanting, and the chamber itself was flooded in fog. Pale cherry blossom petals blew by on a nonexistent breeze, and the distant clunking of wooden chimes echoed softly in their ears. The fog dissipated only a little, but just enough to reveal the silhouette of the ghost of a man hovering over the warded mouth of the hole.

_I am the blade of vengeance_, a mournful voice resonated from every direction as though ringing within their minds. _I warn you, summoner. Turn back._

Tidus pushed to his feet, as Yusuke moved to stand again at his side. "But…" The blond weakly protested, "Y-you're a Fayth…"

_I am_, the shadow nodded. _But my soul is impure. Tainted, by the darkness I could not escape in my afterlife. I would as soon strike down he who summons me as I would his enemies._

"You called me here," Yusuke growled, drawing the spirit's attention upon himself.

The Fayth's presence seemed to drift closer, even while its blurred silhouette remained where it was. _I did._

"Why?"

The energy fog surrounding them shifted, and Yusuke suddenly found himself awash in feelings of pain and regret and such helpless desperation for redemption that for a moment he didn't know what to do with himself. He both felt and heard Tidus whimper piteously beside him, and he knew the blond summoner felt it too. Swallowing thickly, the tattooed demon shook his head in an attempt to clear it and lifted his gaze again to the disembodied spirit before them.

His sharp eyes pierced through the fog for an instant, and he saw the Fayth for what it was – a weary warrior, clothes torn, armor shattered. Dirtied skin, open wounds, free-flowing rivulets of blood drenching a lax hand loosely gripping a tarnished and broken broadsword. The vision lasted for only the briefest instant, but Yusuke had seen everything he needed. He narrowed his eyes, frowning. "I'm not a summoner."

He felt Tidus' hand grip his own, but he could do no more than glance at the blond and give his fingers a squeeze.

_No._ The Fayth murmured in acceptance. _But you are a creature of strength and power darker than my own. It is no secret among the Fayth how fiercely you protect that man beside you and his companions._

Yusuke let the black bleed into his eyes, loosing a low growl from deep in his throat.

"Y-Yusuke..!" Tidus gasped, tugging once at the darker youth's hand in quiet protest.

But the Fayth only nodded as though its point had been proven for it, and suddenly the fog surrounding them lit up with a white brilliance that forced them to shield their eyes.

_I surrender my pain unto you!_

The tattooed demon grunted as foreign energy punched through his chest with the force of a battering ram. The black of his eyes spilled red down his cheeks, his markings whorled and swirled and burned along his skin, and in the back of his mind Raizen roared as his pocketed energy absorbed and merged with the power forced into him. Tidus' cries echoed distantly at his side, and he could vaguely sense his hand being squeezed and his shoulder shaken as the blond tried to get him to respond.

Time whistled by, but trudged along at a snail's pace at the same time. Finally, his aura settled, and his head cleared enough that he could feel something smoothing across the sides of his face. He blinked his fierce brown eyes open, quickly cutting through a moment's blur to see Tidus staring at him with stark worry in those fiery blue orbs.

"I'm alive," he assured, his voice strained and gruff. He glanced around, immediately noting the spirit's absence and the fog as quickly dissipated around them. A low grinding rumble below their feet drew their attention to the warded hole in the ground, and they both stared as the stone statue abruptly tore itself in half with a resounding _crack_.

"Yusuke…?"

He turned his head, his gaze drawn to the bloodied cloth in Tidus' hands. The blond bit his lip, but hid nothing. "Your eyes were bleeding…"

Muttering an oath under his breath, Yusuke took the cloth and tossed it to the ground, pulling the blond summoner to him and caging Tidus in his arms. "I'm sorry."

"Are you all right?" Tidus looked up, concern still very clear in his expression. "Are you hurt?"

Quickly taking internal inventory of himself, not wishing to lie, it was a moment before the tattooed demon nodded confidently. "I feel fine."

"But the Fayth…"

"I know," Yusuke nodded, not needing to hear the blond finish his thought. "But I don't know how else to explain it. I can feel my energy, and if I concentrate I think I can sense what the Fayth gave me, but…" He shook his head, offering a small self-deprecating smirk at being unable to word it better. "It's dormant."

Tidus nodded, resting his forehead against Yusuke's chest with a small sigh. "But why _did_ he call for you?" He wondered softly, asking the question that was racing laps in both their minds.

~o~

When at last they caught up to their companions, their entourage was conversing with an encampment of Ronso warriors. Yuna, sandwiched between Auron and Kimahri, seemed to be pleading with an older Ronso whom Yusuke vaguely recognized from their farce of a trial in Bevelle. The Ronso Elder shook his head, appearing incredulous of whatever the softly-spoken brunette had said to him, his response reaching Yusuke and then Tidus as the two drew closer:

"You have been branded traitors, but still you would fight Sin? Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage?"

"They're _not_ hated!" Yusuke growled, inviting himself into the conversation as they drew closer. He fisted his free hand at his side as he glared at the Ronso. "I don't even belong in this world; every time I turn around I'm forced to learn something new. But the one thing I never had to be told is how much the people look up to these two. They _respect_ Tidus and Yuna, and lemme tell you, that's not something that can just be swept under the rug like your high-and-mighty_ court_ tried to do. Spira's people won't give up on them so easily."

"Everything, lost!" The Elder insisted. "What do they fight for?"

Tidus himself took up the answer to that, at last rejoining his beloved twin at her side. "We fight for Spira."

"The people long for the Calm," Yuna gently added. "We can give it to them. It's all we can give."

"Even sacrificing yourself…?" At last, the Ronso Elder seemed humbled. Lifting his voice, he commanded his warriors, "Let them pass!"

All around them, the Ronso each bowed their heads and took a step back in compliance.

"Summoners," The Elder spoke once more. "Your will is stronger than steel. Tempered steel, that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend. We bow to your will. Go… The sacred heights of Gagazet welcome you."

A sudden roar ripped through the air in protest, and Yusuke spun around to find the two Ronso called Biran and Yenke stomping toward them, spears drawn. The tattooed demon shifted to place himself as guard before Tidus and Yuna, feeling Tidus' hand rest on his shoulder, even as Auron slid subtly closer as well.

"Kimahri _not_ pass!" Biran declared hotly, marching forth until he was nearly chest-to-chest with the Ronso in question. "Kimahri shame Ronso brothers. Kimahri forget his birth."

"Forget his people," Yenke added, from the sidelines it seemed to Yusuke. "Forget his mountain."

Biran growled again, "Mountain not forgive the weak."

Yusuke bared his teeth in a low growl of his own, but knew instinctively that this was a challenge in which he could not interfere. Yet he tossed Kimahri a glance laced with promise as their blue companion stepped forth. Kimahri had covered his back countless times during their journey; Yusuke would repay that debt instantly if Kimahri needed him to.

Kimahri drew his spear around, ready for Biran to make the first move. The other Ronso quickly obliged, leaping forth in an attack. Kimahri fended him off easily, but was not quite swift enough when Yenke suddenly struck him from behind. Yusuke tensed, ready to spring, but – despite the handful of cries of outrage from the watching Ronso – Elder Kelk did nothing to halt the fight. Kimahri was left to fend for himself against not one, but _two_ challengers. The overwhelming unfairness of it pushed Yusuke toward his limit, but he could only stand on the sidelines and watch, while silently reminding himself that Kimahri Ronso was far too skilled a fighter to be taken down so easily.

Even by two of his own kind.

And so the fight went on. Kimahri often twisted or leapt back or even rolled in the snow at their feet to avoid his opponents' spears. Yusuke overheard one or two onlookers mutter under their breaths about _cowardly tactics_, but they were silenced instantly when Kimahri suddenly felled Yenke, leaving him alone with Biran. And then Kimahri was done dodging. He rushed Biran in a headlong attack, making the battle no longer about skill but brute strength. Roars of approval lifted up from the watching Ronso, nearly drowning out the grunts and growls of the two locked spear-to-spear.

Yuna gave a soft gasp and gripped Yusuke's arm when Biran managed to cut the tip of his spear across the center of Kimahri's chest. The tattooed demon held his other arm out to bar Tidus from stepping forward when Biran succeeded in thrusting his spearhead into Kimahri's thigh. Kimahri's outraged roar tore through the air as he himself wrenched the spear from his leg. Stumbling for a moment and falling to his good knee, he braced his own spear to the ground and pushed to his feet again. Only Yusuke's quick eyes caught Biran's slight hesitation before the other Ronso moved forth in another attack. But that small hint of uncertainty was all Kimahri needed; he ducked below Biran's guard and shouldered him to the snow-covered ground. Biran, in his surprise, could do little more than stare up at the smaller Ronso who had pinned him down with both their spears across his chest.

"Yield," Kimahri growled, chest heaving and narrowed eyes glaring.

Biran was silent a moment before slowly nodding his head. "Biran… yield."

The surrounding Ronso roared and cheered the victory. Kimahri rolled off of Biran and to his back; Tidus and Yuna raced forth immediately and began to heal their companion. Yusuke tensed as Biran pushed to his feet, nearly stepping forward when the other Ronso glanced at them. But then Biran turned away and moved toward the fallen Yenke, slapping the other Ronso's cheek to rouse him.

The two Ronso stood together, watching as Yuna's delicate hands healed the last evidence of Kimahri's pain. Their expressions, for once, were not condescending as they watched Yusuke take Kimahri's arm across his shoulders and help push the younger Ronso to his feet. Kimahri nodded that he was able to walk, his fist gripping the pole of his spear the only visible clue that he would be favoring his leg for a day or two.

"Strong is Kimahri," Yenke reluctantly murmured.

Biran nodded. "Ronso stop pursuers from temple."

Tidus and his sister stared at the two, while Yusuke tossed a quick glance over his shoulder to discover the Ronso Elder nodding in silent assent.

"Penance," Biran gruffly announced, "for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago."

Yenke growled in anticipation; "We crush enemies following behind. Kimahri crush enemies standing before!"

And once more, the surrounding Ronso race threw up their fists and their voices to the air, and Mount Gagazet itself shook with their cries for battle.


	27. Not Over

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven – Not Over**

Trekking the paths of Gagazet proved to be perhaps the greatest challenge of their pilgrimage. The snow was loose powder at their feet, and often reached their knees in depth. The sun had decided to hide behind the clouds, and so the skies overhead were a forbidding grey with only the white slivered outline of noonday sunlight to offer any hope toward their goal. But it were the mountain winds that tossed bits of ice to nick their flesh and tear at their clothes.

Yusuke found himself wracked with guilt and self-hatred. The mountain cold did nothing to his hardened demon hide; the knee-deep snow barely slowed him down. Makai winters were much fiercer, by far, and he had even visited the Isle of the Ice Maidens for a season. Gagazet was tame and meek in comparison. But he would cuss under his breath whenever he watched one of his human companions stumble, quickly racing to their side to help them to their feet again. And every few hours, when they had no choice but to stop and build a fire for warmth, the tattooed youth would find himself readily agreeing with Raizen as the pocketed darker energy cursed him in the back of his mind for being unable to do more for them than hunt down meat for their food.

~o~

Yusuke flinched and spun around in the snow to stare behind him. Both Tidus and Yuna, whom he had been shielding from the near-blizzard winds, paused to either side of him and looked on him with curiosity and concern in their eyes.

"What is it?" Auron called back from somewhere ahead of them.

The tattooed demon narrowed his dark eyes, his core pulsing in an ominous warning which spread through his entire being. In the next instant, the mountain winds ceased their rage and grew disconcertingly still. The others murmured in relief and wonder for the respite, but Yusuke suddenly felt an urge to call them back. Glancing over his shoulder, glimpsing Kimahri as their blue companion tightened his great fists about his spear and glanced uneasily about himself, the dark youth knew his instincts were not screaming at him for nothing.

"Yusuke…?"

He let his eyes dart to his left, letting Tidus know the blond had gleaned a distracted bit of his attention. And he easily read the question and worry in those flame blue eyes, but for the life of him he could not answer. His throat had closed tight around the words, and he could not cough them out.

What he had felt was a plummeting drop of energy, within the mountain itself.

~o~

It was well into the next afternoon, and Yusuke still had not let go of the remorse which felt to have bled from his core and into his veins. He had not responded to the others' curiosity, and could only squeeze Tidus' hand in answer whenever the blond summoner would glance at him in quiet concern. Instead, he walked closer to Kimahri's side as they journeyed on, neither saying a word to the other but both sharing in the dread birthed by the mountain's continued stillness.

It wasn't until Yusuke sensed another shift in energy, this one far too familiar, that the dark demon finally had his answer.

Even Raizen regretted hearing the truth of it. But, once spoken, it could not be unheard.

Seymour Guado met them atop one of Mount Gagazet's many reaching cliffs, his robes untouched by the snow. His mouth tugged in a calculative expression, his eyes looking over them all in cold superiority. His presence prompted everyone to come closer together, weapons drawn and readied as they shielded their summoners. The undead Guado smirked, unafraid. His gaze passed over all of them without a care and landed on Yuna. "Ah," he spoke, as though ignorant of the animosity in the air. "It _is_ a pleasure."

It was more than obvious that the sentiment was not returned. Both Yuna and her brother immediately conjured staff and sword, their auras fluctuating as they began to chant under their breaths.

Seymour quirked a brow, unimpressed. "A Sending, so soon?" Then he sneered, all facades of distanced nonchalance gone in an instant. "Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave."

_I knew it._ Yusuke clenched his jaw, digging his claws into his palms in tight fists.

The Guado chuckled to himself, as though in response to a private joke as he turned his gaze upon Kimahri. "Yours was truly a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path." His sneer grew, "_One, after another._"

Kimahri's low growl as he hefted his spear was laced with pain and grief. Yusuke narrowed his dark eyes with a rumbling growl of his own, but the feel of Tidus' fingers gripping his wrist held him back. For the moment.

And yet Seymour, it seemed, had not quite finished taunting them. "You could end the suffering of this poor Ronso. Allow him to die, and release him from his pain." He waved an arm toward the world beyond the mountain cliff upon which they stood; "Spira is a land caught in the spiral of death and suffering. To free Spira – to heal it – I will become the next Sin. With your help, Yuna."

The pretty brunette shifted closer to her brother's side; Tidus moved until he was nearly shielding her, his jagged shortsword lifted in defense.

But then the undead Guado said something he shouldn't have, something that hinted to a desperately kept secret.

"Once I have become Sin, your uncle will be freed again."

Yusuke gave a ripping growl and unleashed his energy, charging forth in an attack. Seymour was ready, throwing up a barrier which threw the dark youth back, his feet and hands digging into the snow as he landed.

Kimahri and Auron needed no further prompting, joining Yusuke as the tattooed demon attacked again. The other guardians shielded their summoners as Seymour retaliated, doing their part to help with magics, grenades, and one energy-laced blitzball that seemed to always know where to return for another throw.

It was a far more difficult battle than before; Seymour seemed at his strongest yet. But they had been growing stronger and better skilled as well, and it was not long before the undead Guado was forced to flee again in a cloud of pyreflies. It _more_ than pissed Yusuke off; he knew this wasn't over.

"He will become Sin," Yuna's soft voice spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "With our help."

"Lies," Auron dismissed in an attempt to get her to let it go.

But the brunette summoner seemed to know she had caught on to something, and was holding on tight. "If he becomes Sin, our uncle will be saved."

"We're leaving," the red-robed warrior tried again.

Tears sprang to her prettily mismatched eyes, and she quickly moved to stand in his way. "You know something, tell me!"

Something akin to guilt flickered in Auron's good eye, and he turned his head, refusing to be the one to break a promise spoken once on the side of a road named Mi'ihen.

"Yuna…"

She turned. Tidus stepped close to his beloved twin and gently touched her cheek, and even Yusuke had to turn away from the pain burning in those flame-blue eyes. "Sin," the blond softly confessed at last, "is Jecht. I don't know why or how he did it, but he _did_ become Sin… I could feel him, whenever Sin was near." He lifted his other hand to match the first, kissing her brow before tipping their foreheads together. "I'm so sorry, Yuna. I didn't tell you, because…"

The soft-spoken brunette bit her lip, but nodded in saddened understanding. "…W-we still have to stop him."

"Yes…"

She gave a small whimper at the very thought, and Tidus pulled her close as her eyes spilled over.

~o~

They lingered on that cliff for an hour or two, partially to rest but primarily to give Kimahri time to grieve over the death of his race. Yusuke stood with him, for he understood all too well, but he said nothing. There were some words that simply could not be said.

Auron hovered near Tidus and Yuna, ever diligent. Now that the secret about their uncle had been revealed, the two summoners were quietly sharing anything else they could think of. Little one-liner tidbits – anything from favorite foods and colors, to moments when they laughed or cried – that would seem insignificant in view of the big picture, but did wonders to reaffirm the closeness shared between the two twins.

Rikku sat with Wakka and Lulu, but they said very little at all. They would scan their surroundings absently for signs of danger, but often their eyes would wander toward their summoners and linger a moment or two before moving on. They had very nearly reached the peak of the mountain. The sacred ruins of Zanarkand were not so distant a destination any longer. They were closer than ever to their journey's end, and it weighed heavily on their minds, and in their hearts.

It was almost a relief when Auron gave the suggestion to keep moving – not because anyone was eager to go, but because the waiting seemed even more torturous.

As they rounded yet another bend in the path, Yusuke cringed under the sudden onslaught of powerful energy, nearly stumbling to his knee before he could right himself. His companions prepared themselves for battle, but when the path led through a small tunnel before opening up again, they were met with an unexpected sight.

No fiend was there to meet them, no dark creature, and no Seymour to taunt them or make another attempt to strike them down. Instead, they came upon a glowing pool of water, spouting a spiraling geyser which seemed to stretch to the skies. Surrounding the pool to one side was a stone wall with a very unique appearance – as though cement had been poured over a pile of dead bodies and left to harden. It was very grotesque and ominous. It was also a very upsetting sight to behold.

"Fayth," Yuna gasped.

Everyone turned to her, curious, and Tidus explained. "All these people in this wall… They're Fayth for the summoning. And their energies are being drawn upon."

"What?" Lulu wondered.

"Someone is drawing power from all of them," Yuna repeated in clarification. "It's an immense use of power; I can't imagine what they could be using it for…"

Yusuke, still cringing under the weight of the energies pressing down upon his senses, stumbled again with a muttered profanity. His skull throbbed with a splitting headache, and his core thrummed and pulsed within his chest. He blinked rapidly, fighting back a wave of dizziness.

This was not the same whiplash he had grown accustomed to when encountering Sin or its spawn, nor even the blackened aura of the aeon Anima. It was not dark, but it was untethered and without filter.

He felt a hand hesitantly touch his arm, and he flinched as though branded by an iron. His feet stumbled yet again as he backed away, shaking his head wildly to clear it, grunting sharply when his shoulders made contact with the wall. Cussing between clenched teeth, he at last felt his legs give out from under him, and he slid along the wall until he'd collapsed to the ground.

~o~

_Familiar tendrils of shadow brushed against him as he waited, floating weightlessly in that empty abyss. He glanced around expectedly, resisting the lull of endlessness that gently tugged at his senses as though inviting him to play._

_One tendril of shadow thickened, took on shape, a form; grew solid, grew corporeal. Colors brightened, separated. A violet hooded vest, splashed with gold, lined with silver; long black shorts, hems frayed and stained with dried sea salt; ribbons of red and blue dangling across a pair of slim hips._

_ The boy greeted him with a small smile under the shadow of his hood, as though they were old friends. But Yusuke knew now that these visions were not a comfort, and the Fayth of Bevelle would not have sought him out this many times, simply to exchange pleasantries._

_**You are not wrong,**__ the boy whispered. __**It begins.**_

_ "You're the one who brought me to Spira," Yusuke surmised with a sudden burst of insight. "You're the reason I'm here."_

_**Yes. Because only you have the hope to accomplish what you have already set out in your mind to do. You, a true demon, are the key to ending Spira's suffering.**_

_ His core murmured uncertainly, and it took a moment to understand. "The summoner's sacrifice. How do I stop it?"_

_ The Fayth seemed to blur and fade for an instant, before reappearing again to his left, face turned slightly away, as though a portion of its attention had been distracted. __**By making one of your own.**_

_ His blood seemed to freeze. "What?"_

_ But before he could be answered, more voices began to fill the ethereal void._

_ "Are you all right?" Tidus seemed to whisper, as though directly into his ear. "I'm here… Can you hear me?"_

_ "Yusuke…" Yuna's voice lamented in concern._

_ "Is he hurt?" Rikku's voice demanded, panicked. "Why won't he wake up?"_

_ And then there came two more voices, voices which he had not heard for some time. Voices he certainly did not expect to hear again, there in that den of woe._

_ "Hiei," the first gasped softly, seeming to echo in from a great distance. "His energy is spiking again…!"_

_ "Don't get your hopes up, Kurama," the second snapped, perhaps to hide its own worry. "It's been months."_

_ The voices faded into the background before growing silent once more. Yusuke turned back to the Fayth, his eyes narrowed. "What's goin' on?"_

_ The boy dipped his head, his hood casting more of his face in shadow. __**Your friends have been standing watch over your body… while your spirit journeys through Spira.**_

_ He clenched his jaw tightly, refraining himself from lashing out at this being who could probably destroy him with a thought. "You wanna run that by me again?"_

_**Would hearing it a second time make it sound any different?**__ The boy turned to him, lifting his head so that the shadow of his hood nearly lifted away from his hidden eyes. __**It was the only way. You resisted me when I tried to transport the whole package.**_

_ Yusuke bit back a retort, asking instead, "So I'm dead again?"_

_**No. Your spirit is still very thinly connected to your body, just enough to keep you alive. That is why your friends watch over you so protectively, and why the Spirit Prince of your world has not been notified of anything wrong. They hold on to the belief you may someday find your way back to yourself.**_

_ "And will I?"_

_**Yes,**__ the Fayth whispered, and Yusuke could hear the promise in that simple word. __**It is our power which brought you into Spira. Soon, there will be nothing left to anchor you here, and you will return to your own world. As though you never left.**_

_ Yusuke frowned slightly, this time in reluctant concern. "What do you mean, 'nothing left'…?"_

_ But the tendrils of shadow swirled around him and thickened, brightening to an almost blinding white. And just as he began to come around, he could hear the boy's voice whisper: __**Go… the journey is not over.**_


	28. Survive

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Eight – Survive**

The first sight to greet Yusuke when he opened his eyes was an endless fiery blue. He blinked, and found Tidus gazing down at him in quiet concern. Glancing beyond the blond, Yusuke saw the others watching him worriedly as well. He felt a hand touch his cheek, and he reached up to grasp it, giving Tidus a small smirk. "Hey…"

The blond let out a breathy, relieved chuckle. "Hey."

"How long was I out?"

"Not long," he assured. "About twenty minutes or so. Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Yusuke grunted, bracing his hands to the ground as he pushed himself upright.

Tidus moved back and helped him to his feet, gripping the dark youth's hand a little longer than necessary as though to reaffirm to himself that Yusuke really was awake and well. "What happened?"

Yusuke met his gaze, the question weighing heavily on his demonic core. But, despite all that had been revealed to him, he knew how the blond summoner might react to learning the truth behind Yusuke's appearance in Spira. And he was not ready yet to add that to the tremendous stress and anxiety Tidus and his sister must have been experiencing, so near the end of their pilgrimage.

"Backlash," he said eventually, offering up the only answer he could without lying to them. "Wasn't ready for it."

"Your nose didn't bleed this time," Auron observed. "How's your head?"

"It's fine," Yusuke dismissed. "Must've hit me too quickly to do much damage to my skull."

Wakka smirked, mock-punching the tattooed demon in the shoulder. "You just keep bouncing back, ya?"

Once everyone was convinced that the danger to Yusuke's equilibrium had passed, Auron suggested they press on. Yusuke fell back with Rikku to the rear of their progression and gave the Fayth wall one last glance as they left it behind.

~o~

They came to a cave in the mountain, and spent nearly a day navigating its tunnels, even with Kimahri at the lead. The tunnels were dark, and damp, and they came across some which had flooded with water, and so needed to turn back. When at last they came to the exit, they were welcomed with an unexpected rush of warm air, and a very large and monstrous beast that seemed to see them as trespassers into its territory.

It swiped its giant paw at Kimahri, sending the blue Ronso flying until his back met with stone. Yuna immediately raced to his side to heal him with her magic. The others paired off in a loose circle around the beast, readying their weapons. Rikku and Lulu threw bombs and cutting shards of ice at it, while Wakka levied his blitzball and hurled it forth.

"Tidus!" Auron commanded, readying his claymore. "Bahamut!"

The blond nodded, swiftly flaring his energy and summoning the dragon-like aeon they had acquired in Bevelle. The skies ripped apart with a sonic boom, announcing the aeon's arrival seconds before it barreled down to their aid. Yusuke narrowed his eyes for a brief instant, but pushed his new knowledge to the back of his mind. When the aeon Bahamut rushed the gigantic fiend, Auron and Yusuke joined in the attack.

Yusuke blurred the red-robed warrior out of the way of Rikku's exploding grenades, and there was a moment of distraction during which Auron returned the favor by throwing up his claymore to shield the both of them from echoes of Lulu's magic. Yet the fiend was simply too large, and too stubborn, to go down easily. Yusuke could tell his companions were beginning to tire; Lulu's spells were losing power, and Wakka's aim had gotten a little off. Yusuke even wondered just how many more grenades Rikku had left before her pouch emptied – it had been some time since they'd left the Calm Lands, after all, and the mountain hadn't done much in the way of providing the materials for her to make more.

He felt a tug at his energy and, feeling Raizen nudge impatiently at the back of his mind, he turned to discover the aeon Bahamut staring in his direction with those ghostly white eyes. Narrowing his own eyes, the tattooed demon followed his instincts and raced forward. Bahamut snatched him with its great claws around his waist and threw him high into the air. Yusuke flared his energy, slowing his descent, while the powerful aeon threw its own magic and punctured the fiend's spine in several places at once. The fiend threw its head back in a roar of pain, its mouth wide open and vulnerable to attack. Yusuke took his cue and fired bullet after bullet of his energy until the fiend burst into a massive cloud of pyreflies.

Yusuke landed firmly on his feet on the ground, watching as the rainbow-colored will-o'-the-wisps scattered about for a long minute, and then turned around in time to watch Tidus dismiss his aeon. The dark youth suspected it would not be the last he would see of Bahamut, or the Fayth behind its power.

~o~

At Auron's insistence, the eight companions only rested briefly before pushing on.

Their path led them down a ledge along the mountainside. It availed them with an awe-inspiring view of thousand-year-old ruins set aglow by the fiery watercolors of the setting sun. The broken city of Zanarkand seemed to slumber within the rolling folds of an everlasting fog. Even from where they stood overlooking their destination, Yusuke could sense not-so-faded echoes of a lingering energy; the city was almost literally bathed in it. It felt to him very alike to the pools in Macalania Woods, or pyreflies, or—

Yusuke cut his own thoughts mid-sentence, narrowing his fierce brown eyes as he glanced to the head of their entourage. So that was it. That was the secret behind the nonhuman feel of the red-robed warrior's aura. What reason, what sense of purpose, had driven Auron to cling so long to a world he should otherwise have departed…?

"Please, can't we wait?" Rikku spoke up, unwittingly breaking Yusuke's chain of thought. "I don't… I don't want to go down there yet…"

"Rikku," Yuna sighed sadly.

Tidus stepped around his twin to place a hand on their cousin's shoulder. His fiery blue eyes meeting hers of swirled green, he solemnly murmured, "_Fa ryja du ku tufh du Zanarkand._"**(34)**

The petite Al Bhed seemed almost as surprised as some of their other companions to hear him speak her native language, but quickly recovered, shaking her head as tears sprang into her eyes. "_E's hud cyoehk oui cruimth'd ku. Pid… Cruimth'd fa drehg ypuid ed cusa suna? Drana'c kud du pa cusa fyo fa lyja oui!_"**(35)**

"_Fa yna bnabynat. Fa ghaf drec susahd fuimt lusa._"**(36)**

"No!" Rikku cried, throwing herself forward to hug them both. The sudden embrace jarred them, and Yusuke's sharp eyes glimpsed light bouncing off a glassy surface as something fell almost noiselessly to the ground at their feet.

The twin summoners pulled her closer within the circle of their arms, and Tidus kissed his cousin's brow. "Tell Cid… thank you."

"Don't talk like that," she protested, her voice breaking with the last syllable. "It's not over, yet. _Ed'c hud._"**(37)**

~o~

When they finally felt resolved enough to continue down toward the city ruins, Yusuke lingered behind. He located the item which had been dropped and forgotten, and knelt to pick it up. It was a sphere, exactly like those they had listened to in the woods and the temple of Macalania. Debating with himself only briefly, the dark youth coated the sphere with his energy and coaxed it into playing back its message.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he heard:

_*Sir Auron,*_ Yuna's voice began over the audio hiss. _*Kimahri told us… when our father wanted us taken from Bevelle to Besaid… It was you who told Kimahri, wasn't it? I had always wanted to meet you again someday. I am truly glad we had that chance. Having you as a guardian is so great an honor, I don't know how to thank you._

_ *If you are all there watching this, then I guess… Sin is already gone. And so are we._

_ *Kimahri… Do you remember when we met? I was so upset… and crying. I wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat… But you helped me. And you helped Tidus to stay strong for me. I realize now how much you've done for us. And when you tried to leave us in Besaid, and I held on to you and begged you not to go… You listened, Kimahri. Thank you so much for staying._

_ *Wakka, Lulu… I'll never forget our days spent with you, growing up in Besaid. We always played together. That's why I was always so happy. When you refused to let us become summoners, and we did it anyway… I'm sorry. We never did apologize, but I've always wanted to. You know, when you tried to stop us, then – I was happy. I could tell you really cared about us._

_ *I guess… that leaves the newest guardian. Demon of the makai, defender of the human race… I don't know how it was that you came to us, and I don't know how long it will take us to discover a way to return you home. But I will always be grateful to have met you._

_ *We haven't known each other long, but you are already a cherished and trusted friend. It's refreshing to witness you look on our world with new eyes. You don't know our traditions, you couldn't care less for our laws, and you never hesitate to fight at our side. You challenge the world, as though you're invincible. And I wonder how it will be to face Sin with you there to support us. I hope we get the chance to find out._

_ *Tidus doesn't want you to be there. He says… that he didn't even want you to become a guardian. He's so afraid that you don't know the truth, and that everyone will assume you do, because no one else knows you're not of this world. But he couldn't stop you from swearing the Oath to Sir Auron, because… he couldn't turn you away._

_ *Please promise me something – my one wish to you, before we defeat Sin, and are gone forever. When you do learn the truth, as I know you must… Please…_

_ *Don't abandon my brother.*_

Last words… Yuna had recorded her voice into the sphere, so that it might have been discovered and listened to after she and her brother had sacrificed themselves for their friends and for Spira. A final testament, so that their companions would have something by which to remember them. And the last of her message was to beg for Yusuke to remain at Tidus' side.

His demon core pulsed achingly, and Yusuke clenched his jaw. In the back of his mind, the hidden pocket of Raizen's darker energy sat in contemplative recognition. Swearing under his breath, he shattered the sphere in his fist, ignoring the blood dripping between his fingers before Genkai's spirit orb could do its job.

He knew now that he would indeed leave this world when it was all over. But he swore again in his mind and in his core that abandoning Tidus or Yuna before then would _never_ be a part of the plan.

~o~

He swiftly caught up to the others. They had decided to camp for the night, just beyond the outskirts of the fallen city. They sat around a small campfire, the taste of worry and sadness cloying the air around them.

Tidus stood slightly apart from the rest of them, alone on atop a small hill, under the bared branches of a dead ash tree.

Yusuke cut through the circle, stepping over the fire, uncaring that he drew upon the curiosity of their friends. Tidus heard him coming, and turned around. His greeting died on the blond's lips as Yusuke pulled him in his arms and kissed him. Surprise melted into heated acceptance, and Tidus gripped the folds of the tattooed demon's tunic, kissing him back with equal fervor. And as Yusuke held him tight and marked those lips for his own, he swore then and there with every delayed pulse of his core that they would win this fight and _survive_.

34) "_Fa ryja du ku tufh du Zanarkand._" Al Bhed translation = "We have to go down to Zanarkand."

35) "_E's hud cyoehk oui cruimth'd ku. Pid… Cruimth'd fa drehg ypuid ed cusa suna? Drana'c kud du pa cusa fyo fa lyja oui!_" Al Bhed translation = "I'm not saying you shouldn't go. But… shouldn't we think about it some more? There's got to be a way to save you!"

36) "_Fa yna bnabynat. Fa ghaf drec susahd fuimt lusa._" Al Bhed translation = "We are prepared. We knew this moment would come."

37) "_Ed'c hud._" Al Bhed translation = "It's not."


	29. No One

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Twenty-Nine – "No One."**

Night had long fallen before everyone was willing enough to agree with Auron's declaration that they could delay no longer. They had rested, their weapons sharpened and ready, and could only hope their resolve would help to push them a little further.

Yusuke no longer felt satisfied with guarding the rear of their entourage, choosing instead to stick close to the summoners as they entered the city ruins. The atmosphere amongst the thousand-year-old debris tugged and cajoled at his energy, until it simmered and hummed beneath his skin. Pyreflies ambled about aimlessly, shifting and swirling in a wispy multitude of colors, and the skies beyond them seemed aglow with a generous dusting of glittering stars.

"Feels like… the Farplane," Wakka commented absently at one point.

To which Auron remarked only, "Close enough."

Every step of the way was a challenge. The road was broken and disjointed, and in places required a bit of teamwork to climb over. The fiends that tried to slow their progress were the strongest they had encountered. They stopped often to heal and recuperate, sometimes needing the rest they had used as an excuse to postpone this last leg of their journey.

Deep within the very heart of the broken city stood the remains of a large temple with a domed ceiling. At one point in history, it must've had been a home to its priests and acolytes, and a sanctuary for many a weary traveler. Now, however, it felt to Yusuke the same as an abandoned cemetery – full of death, mixed with pain and loss and suffocatingly mournful sadness.

At the temple's entrance, they were greeted by a priest with a very distinctive aura.

"Journeyers of the long road," the aged priest spoke, voice paper-thin and cracking. "Name yourselves."

"I am Tidus," the blond answered. Motioning to the pretty brunette at his side, he added, "This is my sister Yuna. We are summoners from the isle of Besaid."

The priest nodded. "Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you." He then walked passed them without another word, his aura blinking out as he turned a corner.

"Lady Yunalesca," Yuna gasped, sharing a look with her brother. "She's alive?"

"As alive as Seymour," Auron spoke, clear warning in his gruff voice, "and Mika."

_And that priest,_ Yusuke mentally tacked on to the list. _And you._

Understanding lit in the twin summoners' eyes. And when their guardians readied their weapons in further caution, so did they, conjuring staff and sword to defend themselves. Yusuke shared a glance with Tidus, and in a moment of inspirational synchronization, they moved slightly closer to Yuna on either side. The brunette might have been as powerful a summoner as her twin brother but, even after traveling so long and defending themselves against hordes of fiends, she lacked in true physical fighting experience.

The interior of the temple had been wrecked through, its walls collapsed into rows of debris. Auron was ever at the lead, silently retracing steps he himself had taken ten years before. Pyreflies flitted about, clouding together randomly in a way that tugged at Yusuke's senses and had Raizen's darker energy sitting up and paying attention.

The others murmured in surprise and alarm when some of the pyreflies came together in a cloud just beyond their reach. And though Yusuke could not see into the pyreflies, his companions stared at whatever image those will-o'-the-wisps were showing them.

_If it might benefit the future of Spira,_ a ghostly voice reached the tattooed demon's sharp ears, _I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honor for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin._ The pyreflies burst apart, off to wander about to no-one-knew-where.

Rikku, who had hidden behind Kimahri in a moment of timidity, peeked around the Ronso's shoulder. "W-what was that…?

"Our predecessors," Auron solemnly revealed. "This dome… is like one giant sphere. People's thoughts and feelings remain here. Forever."

They took his words to heart, proceeding at an even more cautious pace than they had been already. Now Yusuke wasn't the only one keeping an eye on the pyreflies, and one or two of the traveling companions seemed unsettled whenever they did.

The second time it happened, the others murmured amongst each other, very clearly upset with what they could see which Yusuke could not. Yet the dark youth frowned, disturbed to hear what could only have been the tear-choked voice of a child crying out for its mother.

_I don't want you to become a Fayth!_

And the child was answered, presumably by the mother he was pleading with. _There is no other way. Use me, and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you._

_I don't care about them!_ The child insisted. _I need you, Mother! No one else!_

The child's tears and begging would have affected any mother, any woman, any soul without a heart of stone. It seemed no less moving, here. When this child's mother answered this time, her voice cracked. _I don't… have much time left…_

The cloud of pyreflies parted, and Yusuke could not help but to feel a twinge of sympathy for both mother and child. And when Rikku and Wakka wondered that the child looked so alike to Seymour Guado, the tattooed demon cussed under his breath and wondered when such a heartbroken child had grown to become so twisted as a man.

~o~

They passed beneath a broken archway within which might once have stood a pair of doors, into a narrow corridor and up a small stand of stairs. Auron shouldered open a door with a broken handle, motioning the others into the next room. Pale tiles on the floor and random sconces on the walls provided the only light in the otherwise shadow-filled chamber. The red-robed warrior led them into an adjoining room, larger and with more shadows playing across its surfaces. A stone lift floated in the center of the floor, waiting to take them to a lower level beneath the room.

"This is it," Auron gruffly announced.

"The hall of the Final Summoning," Yuna murmured. Beside her, Tidus took his sister's hand into his own.

"Do either of you need a moment, before we go down?"

She shook her head, and Tidus gave a small smile in gratitude for their guardian's considerate offer. "No," the blond replied. "Waiting will not make this easier. There is nothing more we can do to prepare."

Nodding, Auron motioned them onto the lift. Then he joined them and commanded the rest of their companions to follow suit. Though Yusuke suspected the lift would take them into this nearly-collapsed temple's sacred chamber, he did not question the other guardian. Instead he moved to stand closer to Tidus' side and caught Rikku's arm when the lift's sudden activation caused her to stumble.

After descending into the lower level, they passed through another broken doorway and gathered around a flattened glass dome which entombed a large stone plaque in the floor. Yusuke frowned, and in the back of his mind Raizen's pocketed energy murmured ominously at the overwhelming waves of _nothing_ radiating from the statue.

The unsent priest who had greeted them upon entering the temple appeared before them once again, his eyes fixed upon the dome in the floor. "That statue," he spoke, so softly that some of them had to strain to hear, "lost its power as a Fayth, long ago. It is Lord Zaon, the first Fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon's soul… is gone."

"Gone?!" Wakka broke in.

Rikku's swirled green eyes glanced from one to the other of her cousins, and then turned again to the old man. "Y-you mean… there _is_ no Final Aeon…?"

"But fear not," the priest went on, as though he had not heard them. "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. Go to her, now. Inside, the Lady awaits." And he faded away in a cloud of pyreflies. An increasingly common sight.

Yusuke clenched his jaw, tossing a glare in Auron's direction. But the red-robed warrior only shook his head, denying nothing. "If I had told you the truth," he asked the group as a whole, "would that really have stopped you from coming?"

The dark youth wanted to immediately argue, to say _Hell yes_, he would have put a stop to whole damn thing! And yet… catching the gazes of their twin summoners, glimpsing the resolve that struggled to burn bright, even now… Yusuke knew a moment of self-doubt. He had sworn to protect the both of them. He had sworn not to abandon _either_ of them. If, indeed, the truth _had_ been revealed earlier, and had the two decided to press onward in spite of it…

No. Yusuke would not have turned back.

~o~

They followed Auron into a very large room, hidden beyond the sacred chamber. And there, descending a tall flight of stairs to greet them, was a scantily-clad woman with moon-pale skin and impossible white hair falling below the small of her back.

Yusuke had seen this woman before. So had they all, as a projected image displayed in Guadosalam before Seymour Guado's unsavory proposal.

Yunalesca.

Pyreflies flitted about her nearly-translucent form, and she moved with all the grace of a phantom. She paused at the foot of the stairs, spreading her arms in welcome. "I congratulate you, summoners," she spoke, her voice strong and filled with the illusion of life. "You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow upon you that which you seek. The Final Summoning will be yours." She paused, casting her fogged-over gaze amongst their number. "You must choose the one whom I will change to become the Fayth of the Final Summoning."

_What._ The word didn't even dignify itself as a question as it rang within the walls of Yusuke's skull. The others were no better, from what he could read of their expressions.

"There must be a bond, between chosen and summoner," Yunalesca went on to explain, "for that is what the Final Summoning embodies: the bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin.

"A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my Fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon.

"There is nothing to fear," she added, her voice softening as though to comfort them. "For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate liberation."

_Maybe,_ Yusuke hissed mentally, baring his fangs in a silent scowl. _But not if you're using it to run away._

She waved an arm to her side, and across the room clouds of pyreflies came together at her command. The others stared at the three clouds, seeing something Yusuke still could not, but even the tattooed demon felt his eyes widen when the first of the voices spoke – in a clear-cut, younger version of Auron's gruff and grainy tone:

_It is not too late,_ the memory within the pyreflies insisted. _Let us turn back!_

_ If I turn back now, who will defeat Sin? Would you have some other summoner and his guardians go through this?_

_ This is the only way we got now,_ a third voice added in agreement with the second. It took but a moment or two for Yusuke's mind to make the connection; he had heard this one before. It was the same voice played back from a sphere found in the Macalania woods, the voice of Jecht. Tidus and Yuna's other Al Bhed uncle. _Make me the Fayth, Braska._

_ Don't do this, Jecht!_

_ Jecht…_ The memory of Braska hesitated.

_**Tuh'd dno du dymg sa uid uv drec, pnudran.**_**(38)** There was a brief pause, before the third voice spoke again, sounding thickened with checked emotion. _Braska still has to fight Sin, Auron. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there._

Auron suddenly heaved his claymore, swinging in a wide arc and cutting through the clouds of pyreflies, breaking them apart. His back was to the rest of the entourage, and he did not turn around for a long minute.

Yunalesca seemed not to notice that her example had been interrupted. Turning, she glided up the flight of stairs and announced for the summoners to find her again when they were ready to decide. And then she was gone, vanishing behind a closed door.

Silence fell over the room, but it did not last long. "If one of us has to become a Fayth," Lulu spoke up, turning to the twin summoners, "_I_ volunteer."

"Me too!" Wakka immediately jumped in.

Yusuke clenched his jaw, growling under his breath. His muscles tensed like a tightened coil, and in the back of his mind Raizen's pocketed energy hissed with frustration. "Are you all so eager to die?"

Everyone turned to him, and the dark youth narrowed his eyes when a few of them seemed to give him pitying looks. As though _he_ was the one who didn't understand. When Lulu looked as though to say something, he cut her off. "Don't even think about tryin' to tell me it's the only way! You're just fallin' into the same pattern as everybody else that made it here. How is one of you dyin' today gonna save your world for tomorrow?"

"But that's what the Final Aeon does," Lulu bravely attempted to placate him.

"Then _screw_ the Final Aeon!" He shot back without missing a beat. Turning to Tidus, holding the blond's fiery blue gaze, he went on. "I promised to find a way out for the both of you. Why the hell would you make it easy for her by walkin' straight into her trap?"

"Yusuke…"

But Yuna touched her brother's arm to quiet him and stepped forward, her prettily mismatched eyes wide and wary as she stared at the tattooed demon. "T-trap…?"

"She's hidin' something," Yusuke growled. "I've seen enough to know when I'm not being told the whole truth, and she's definitely keepin' an ace up her sleeve."

Tidus' wit was right on the heels of his sister's; "You believe there's another option she's keeping from us?"

"Take a look around you," he reasoned impatiently. "How long did you train and prepare for the day you would come here? How many times were the two of you force-fed that bull about sacrificing yourselves for the safety of Spira? And now that you're finally here, some Ghost-of-Christmas-Past tells you we gotta kill off one of your friends too?" He spun on his heel, a ripping snarl passing through clenched teeth as he glared up the flight of stairs. "I've _always_ hated liars."

~o~

They found Yunalesca waiting for them on a broken dais which seemed to float in the illusion of an endless sea of stars. Yusuke felt the shift of energies in the atmosphere, and surmised they had crossed into a fairly convincing imitation of an entirely separate reality. _So the little bitch has some power_, he mocked, still pissed at having been lied to.

"Have you chosen the one to become your Fayth?" She asked them. "Who will it be?"

"Might we… ask something first?" Yuna spoke, hesitantly. "Will Sin come back, even should we use the Final Summoning to defeat it?"

"Sin is eternal," Yunalesca answered immediately. "Every aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in its place. And thus, is Sin reborn."

_That explains __**that**__, at least._ Now Yusuke waited for the other foot to drop.

"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny. It is never-ending."

Wakka tried to protest; "But if we atone for our crimes… Sin will stop coming back, ya?"

"Will humanity ever obtain such purity?" She asked in return.

The redhead choked on his next words, a stricken look on his face, as though the last shards of everything he had believed in until then were suddenly shattered in front of him. At his side, Lulu quickly stepped forward. "This cannot be!" She argued desperately. "The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement. It's been our only hope, all these years!"

"Hope is… comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be."

Swarms of pyreflies raced onto the dais then, suddenly clouding together as one last memory made itself heard.

_Where is the sense in all this?_ Younger Auron's voice rang out, pain and grief thick in its demand. _Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them! Jecht… Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!_

Though Yunalesca herself did not address the pyreflies, still her voice could be heard in the air, though faded and small as though filtering in through a great distance. _They chose to die… because they had hope._

And then Yusuke heard something that forced him to relive the memory of his second death: The voice of Auron's memory belting out a final desperate battle cry, and then cutting itself short as it was followed by a deathly silence. He glanced briefly at the red-robed warrior standing stoically to the other side of Kimahri, knowing a moment of sympathetic understanding that the man had just been forced to watch his own death-scene.

"Yevon's teachings and the Final Summoning give the people hope," Yunalesca spoke again, her voice breaking through the tense silence. "Without hope, Spira would drown in its sorrow. Now… choose. Who will be your Fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"

Everyone wordlessly turned to the twin summoners, waiting to follow whichever cue they would decide upon. Yusuke, however, glared at the woman standing so patiently before them. Baring his fangs, he felt his muscles bunch and tense, and he flexed his claws at his sides.

But then he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, and he turned his head to meet Tidus' steady gaze. The blond gave him a long look, his fingers squeezing around Yusuke's wrist before slipping down to lock their fingers together. Glancing at their joined hands, the dark youth looked up again and gave a single nod. A small smile tugged at Tidus' lips, a smile he shared with Yuna when his beloved sister stepped closer and hugged his other arm in unwavering support. Tidus then turned his gaze to Yunalesca, and gave voice to their decision.

"No one."

38) _Tuh'd dno du dymg sa uid uv drec, pnudran._ Al Bhed translation = "Don't try to talk me out of this, brother."


	30. Sacred Chamber

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Thirty – Sacred Chamber**

"The Final Summoning is a false tradition which should be thrown away."

Wakka and Lulu stared at the three of them, and Rikku's eyes glistened wetly at the conviction ringing behind Tidus' declaration. Only Auron seemed unsurprised, though the knuckles of his hand were white as he gripped the hilt of his claymore.

"No," Yunalesca shook her head, as though arguing with a child. "It is our only hope. Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow."

"Our father wanted to rid Spira of its sorrow," Yuna corrected, resolve strong in her usually delicate voice. "Not just cover it up with lies."

"Sorrow cannot be abolished," Yunalesca lamented. "It is meaningless to try."

"Wanna bet," Yusuke growled, tugging himself free of the twin summoners and blurring forth to challenge the white-haired woman.

Yunalesca's clouded eyes widened before she could stop herself, but then she gave him a look of superiority. "Foolish boy. You cannot kill me, any more than you could destroy Sin. It is human nature to cling to hope, rather than to drown in sorrow."

"Guess it's a good thing I'm not human," he snarled, bleeding the black into his own eyes as he flared his energy. He pushed Raizen's power to the fore, his markings burning into a richer blue hue as they whorled and swirled along his skin.

Yunalesca stumbled back a step. "W-what are you?"

He gave a hard smirk, lips pulling back to reveal his fangs. "Bad news," he growled, and blurred into movement that to her eyes made him seem as though he had vanished.

Yunalesca gave a sharp cry and arched her spine, milliseconds before Yusuke suddenly appeared again behind her. His claws gripped her sides, digging into her flesh, and he had bitten his fangs into the soft tendons of her shoulder. She tried to free herself, but he had effectively pinned her within his grasp. He could sense the stares of his companions but they did not completely register on his mind; he had given himself wholly to his more bestial instincts to protect and attack. When he felt Yunalesca continue to struggle, flares of magic and energy attacking him uselessly from all sides, he growled and tightened his jaws around her shoulder.

She cried out again, daring to curse him. He didn't care. But when he heard her go on to threaten his companions, specifically their two summoners, now _that_ he did care about. He gave another growl and flared his own aura, pulses of his dark energy passing into her in strong wavelike currents, attacking her from within. No matter her power, no matter the strength her spirit had gathered and collected over the past thousand years, she clearly could not withstand such an attack from a demon of Yusuke's caliber.

Eventually she grew limp, and Yusuke released her, letting her drop to the floor in a boneless heap. Yunalesca lifted her head with a small whimper, her clouded gaze staring up at the tattooed demon as though in accusation. "I-if I die, so does the Final Summoning. Spira… will be left without hope."

"Still believe that, huh?"

"Spira is not lost," Tidus spoke up, coming to stand at Yusuke's side. "We will find a new hope."

"F-fools," she gasped, dropping her head atop her arms and sinking further against the floor. "There is n-no other way. Even if you kill Sin… Y-Yu Yevon… will just b-bring it back again…" And then Yunalesca sighed her last breath and faded, pyreflies bursting from her disappearing form and taking flight.

~o~

Yuna touched a hand to her brother's arm, offering a small smile of encouragement when he turned his fiery blue eyes upon her. Touching his fingers to her cheek, softly sweeping her soft strands behind her ear, Tidus returned her sentiment with a nod of his head. Yusuke watched them interact together, always a picture of familial intimacy, and his demonic core swelled with great relief that death had not yet been permitted to separate them.

Auron spoke then, a thickened tone in his gruff voice as he announced the time had come to leave Zanarkand temple. Wakka and Lulu and Rikku, still in shock at what they had just witnessed, led the two summoners down from that broken dais and down the staircase. Auron and Yusuke followed after them, but the red-robed warrior held him back as the others exited the large antechamber.

His good eye glinted solemnly behind his dark glasses as he met and held Yusuke's gaze. "You know the truth, now."

Considering that the tattooed demon had learned several truths in the span of a single day, he kept silent and waited for other guardian to be more specific.

"You saw that I died. I returned here after Braska had sacrificed himself. I challenged Yunalesca, and she struck me down."

_Ah._ He might've guessed that to be the one. "I didn't really _see_ it, but yeah. I figured it out before that, though."

"What?"

"Before we left the mountain," Yusuke clarified. "When we were looking over the ruins. Wakka said the city feels like the Farplane, right?" He shrugged a shoulder, "Well, so do you."

"You accept it as easily as that?"

"You died for your friends, right? Would make me a pretty big hypocrite if I didn't."

Auron blinked. "You are not an unsent…"

"Maybe not. But I'm not exactly human, either." He smirked, "Remember?"

~o~

When they left the temple, they were met with a surprising yet familiar sight. It was Cid's airship, repaired and waiting for them to board, engines humming loudly. Yusuke could only guess that their entourage had been tracked down the same way the Al Bhed had found Tidus and Yuna. He could not deny the convenience, however. He knew that his companions needed time to wrap their heads around what had most recently occurred, and to find belief – somehow, somewhere – that they hadn't just destroyed Spira's future.

The Al Bhed leader Cid greeted them as they entered the aircraft's bridge. His eyebrow quirked up a bit toward his bald head as he looked them over. "Well," he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Aren't we the happy looking bunch."

His comment was left unchallenged. It was suddenly not so easy to confess to the seriousness of what they had done.

"_Ihlma_," Tidus' voice quietly spoke up, and everyone turned to find he had followed into the bridge, his arm tightly hugged by his beloved twin.**(39)**

Cid seemed to grow tense as the two approached him, his back and shoulders visibly stiff, as though he expected a confrontation. But they paused with some space still between them, and Tidus' expression reflected every sincerity as he murmured, "_Uin sudran yht vydran cbuga rekrmo uv oui, yht Jecht icat du damm ic dryd ev fa fana ajan eh haat uv ramb, oui fuimt pa cusauha du tapaht uh. Fa yna frummo dryhgvim dryd draen vyedr eh oui ryt hud paah secbmylat._"**(40)**

Beside him, Yuna nodded, her prettily mismatched eyes brimming wetly.

Cid did not respond, staring at them for several long seconds before wordlessly turning away. Yuna gave a small cry, but Tidus gently held her back from drawing closer. He shook his head. Biting her lip, Yuna let her brother lead her away, and the two followed Kimahri in wandering the airship. Neither saw Cid's true reaction, but Yusuke could sense the sadness and grief and shame spilling from the older Al Bhed's aura.

The tattooed youth left the bridge in search of the twin summoners, and found them on the cabin level, staring out one of the reinforced windows. Kimahri noticed his presence first, wordlessly stepping a couple paces back to give him room as he approached. Tidus noted the movement, turning his head and offering a small private smile when he discovered Yusuke.

"We were thinking on where we might go from here," he softly shared. "But we've only stumbled upon the discovery of how little we truly know outside the teachings."

"But you know a lot about what you do know, right?"

Beside her brother, Yuna gave a soft giggle. "Yes. But Yevon's teachings only give us so much. We were thinking we might need to know both sides to find the answer."

"Okay," Yusuke accepted. "Do we know someone like that?"

Both began to shake their heads negatively, but then Kimahri spoke up. "Mika."

"The Grand Maester?" Yuna wondered.

The blue feline gave a single nod of his great head. "Mika knows much. Find him, make him talk."

The twin summoners shared a pondering glance; Yusuke shrugged his shoulder. "It's more of a start than we had two minutes ago."

Tidus chuckled, and together the small number left to regroup with the rest of their companions.

~o~

After a day of rest, Cid's airship settled down in the Calm Lands. The entourage of companions hiked quietly amongst the glittering trees of Macalania and snuck into the neighboring city. Crusader soldiers had been posted at every street corner, armed with their machina weapons. Maneuvering around them undetected was difficult at best, even with Auron at the lead.

They had successfully reached the highbridge without incident, but were discovered as they approached the impressive temple. A pair of soldiers blocked their path, rifles aimed at the ready. Just as they were threatening to fire, however, a woman's voice shouted at them an order to stand down. Lowering their weapons, the two soldiers reluctantly moved aside to reveal the acolyte Yusuke had met in Guadosalam.

Her travel clothes of greens and yellows were a little more worn than when last the demon had encountered her, but her light brown eyes were still as wide and innocent as she approached their number. Yusuke stepped forward, and her expression became one of surprised recognition. "Oh," she shyly exclaimed. "H-hello again…"

"Shelinda, wasn't it." When she nodded that he had remembered her name correctly, Yusuke asked, "What's goin' on?"

She clasped her hands timidly, nibbling her lower lip a little before answering. "Truly… I do not understand it, myself…"

Recalling her meek nature, he gently touched a hand to her shoulder. She seemed to take encouragement from his gesture, sighing a great breath before beginning again. "All Yevon seems to be in a state of confusion. Yesterday, they called for me and made me captain of the guard." She looked up, her soft brown eyes blinking back tears she tried so valiantly to keep from spilling. "I feel so far above my station, I'm afraid what might happen if I stumble and fall."

"It'll all be over again, soon," Yusuke told her. "I promise."

"I-it will?"

He nodded. "But we need your help."

"But what can _I_ do…?"

Tidus stepped closer. "Do you think you could arrange an audience with the Grand Maester?"

~o~

"Why are you here?" Mika's paper-thin voice preceded him as he entered the audience chamber – the very same in which Yuna and her brother had been wrongly accused of treason against Yevon. "You must go and defeat Sin, quickly! You have obtained the Final Aeon from Yunalesca, have you not?"

"Not on your life," Yusuke growled lowly. "I'll be spittin' out the taste of her blood for the next week."

"What," the aged man stumbled back in shock.

Auron stared him down, his good eye narrowed and glaring. "Summoners and their guardians will never be sacrificed again."

"You have profaned and subverted a thousand-year-old tradition? Fools!" Mika cried. "Infants! Do you realize what you've done? You've taken the only means of calming Sin!"

"Thought the goal here was to _kill_ the damn thing," Yusuke hissed under his breath.

"Preposterous," Mika scoffed, as though he had heard the tattooed demon. "There is no other way!"

"The Grand Maester," Auron quirked his brow, "running away?"

The frail old man sighed, shaking his head as though chastising a child. "Spira has lost its only hope. Destruction is inevitable. Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all. I have no desire to watch Spira die…"

"Lady Yunalesca also mentioned this… Yu Yevon," Lulu spoke up. "Who is he?"

"He who crafts the souls of the dead into unholy armor. An armor called Sin," Mika revealed. "Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible. And the only thing that could have pierced that armor, you have _destroyed_!" He turned away from them and, as though suddenly unable to face the fear of his world's fate, he let his spirit free in a cloud of pyreflies.

"Disappear on us, will you?" Wakka suddenly burst, raising his fist at the fading will-o'-the-wisps. "Rotten son of a shoopuf!"

It was then that the door swung open, and Shelinda invited herself into the chamber. Her eyes were wide as she looked at them all. "Oh, but… w-where is the Grand Maester?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Yusuke certainly didn't want to be the one to have to tell her. Auron, seeming to think in a hurry, turned to her and lied through his teeth. "He isn't here, yet. How long will he make us wait?"

"That's odd," she murmured, ducking her head and turning again to the door. "I'll see if I can find him…"

Yusuke flinched as the energies in the room subtly shifted, and he turned to discover a ghostly vision of the Fayth that had been haunting him hovering in the air over their heads. Only Tidus and Yuna seemed to share in his discovery; the rest of their companions appeared thoroughly distracted in watching the timid acolyte leave the room to begin her promised search.

The child spirit stared down at them from under the shadow of his hood, and his young voice whispered as though directly into their ears, beseeching. _Come to me._

The twin summoners nodded their acceptance, and the Fayth was gone again. Yusuke stayed close at their heels as Tidus abruptly announced to Auron that they would not leave without another visit to the temple's sacred chamber.

39) "_Ihlma_." Al Bhed translation = "Uncle."

40) "_Uin sudran yht vydran cbuga rekrmo uv oui, yht Jecht icat du damm ic dryd ev fa fana ajan eh haat uv ramb, oui fuimt pa cusauha du tapaht uh. Fa yna frummo dryhgvim dryd draen vyedr eh oui ryt hud paah secbmylat._" Al Bhed translation = "Our mother and father spoke highly of you, and Jecht used to tell us that if we were ever in need of help, you would be someone to depend on. We are wholly thankful that their faith in you had not been misplaced."


	31. Aeon

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Thirty-One – Aeon**

A child's voice singing in ominous prayer welcomed them as Yusuke followed the twin summoners into the chamber. The tattooed demon stood in the background, waiting with arms crossed, while Tidus and Yuna approached the edge of the glass in the floor. The room was set softly aglow as the Fayth appeared, soft light passing through his form as easily as though he were nothing more than a faded silhouette.

_Hello_, the child spirit whispered, turning his head slightly to include Yusuke into the quiet greeting. _Thank you for setting your fears aside and putting an end to the sacrificial tradition. Have you found a way to truly defeat Sin?_

Tidus shared a glance with his beloved sister, before turning again to the Fayth and venturing, "We've heard mentions of someone named Yu Yevon. We believe perhaps we must stop him to bring the spiral to its end."

_Yes,_ the Fayth nodded, a relieved pitch within his young voice. _If you defeat Yu Yevon, it will end. Tell me, what do you know about Yu Yevon?_

"He's what makes Sin come back," Yusuke spoke up in answer.

Yuna nodded; "Sin is his armor. It protects him."

_Yu Yevon was once a summoner, long ago. He was peerless. Yet now he lives for one purpose,_ the boy lamented, _only to summon. He is neither good, nor evil. Even had you defeated Sin with the Final Summoning, Yu Yevon would live. Yu Yevon would join with the Final Aeon, and transform it into a new Sin. Then, protected by this new Sin he has created, Yu Yevon would continue the summoning. For eternity._

"No such thing," Yusuke growled under his breath, his demonic core giving a mournful pulse that shot its ache along his veins until he felt it within his entire being.

The Fayth turned his head slightly, shadowed gaze seeming to pierce into the tattooed youth, and there seemed an almost apologetic tilt to the set of his mouth. _When you find and fight Yu Yevon,_ he addressed the two summoners again, _I'm afraid your swords and magic won't be enough. But we offer up our aeons to help you. Please, promise you will call upon us when the time comes._

It took nothing at all for Yuna and her brother to make such a promise. After assuring the Fayth that they would not forget, they bade him farewell and exited the chamber.

Yusuke lingered a moment. Unfolding his arms from across his chest, he stepped forward. The Fayth's form wavered as the child spirit shifted a bit closer as well, and Yusuke could almost glimpse the boy's eyes behind the shadow of his hood.

_I'm sorry…_

The tattooed demon fisted his hands at his sides, his claws digging into his palms. "You said I could only stop the sacrifice by making one of my own."

_Yes._

He clenched his jaw, and in the back of his mind Raizen's darker energy felt weighed down with despaired acceptance. "If I do this," Yusuke hissed, eyes flickering between their normal fierce brown color and the pools of black of his more primal power, "you have to _swear_ to me that he'll be happy."

_… I will find a way._

Yusuke reluctantly acknowledged that it was the best the Fayth could offer. He nodded. "Tell me how."

~o~

When Yusuke rejoined his companions, Tidus immediately grasped his hand and gave him a curious look. The darker youth said nothing, stealing a quick and searing kiss from the blond. Those fiery blue eyes dilated as Tidus stared up at him when they broke apart; Yusuke offered a small smirk, not letting on that his demonic core felt squeezed by a fist of burning ice at the sight.

"I'm afraid the Grand Maester is nowhere to be found…" Shelinda's voice preceded her as the young acolyte returned to the audience chamber.

"We were about to leave, anyway," Auron told her.

Her soft brown eyes blinked in surprise, but she nodded that she understood. "I'm sorry to have let everyone down. I hope you'll find whatever it is you are looking for."

The group of eight left the city in much the same way they had come in, quietly ducking the Crusaders in case one or more of those armed soldiers were still trigger-happy at the sight of them. They crossed through the glittering woods and returned to the edge of the Calm Lands, where Cid's airship stood waiting.

Cid himself did not appear so patient, as they entered the bridge. The Al Bhed's arms were crossed over his chest, and his boot-clad foot was tapping a quick rhythm on the floor. "Well?"

"We have to defeat Yu Yevon," Tidus informed his uncle. "Somehow… we have to destroy Sin from the inside."

"_Baylro_," he muttered. "Any bright ideas how we go about doin' that?"**(41)**

"We can't do anything," Auron argued tactically, "until we find out where Sin _is_."

Cid shrugged, motioning toward the large glass globe in the center of the bridge. "We'll do what we can to track it down. Meantime, go ahead and get some rest. We'll need a day or two more to resupply, and then we'll be up in the air again."

The others nodded and turned away, some leaving to do exactly as had been suggested, but Yusuke stayed behind and approached the glass globe. Within it he could see clear-cut images of Spira's mainland, the dozen islands surrounding it. A handful of dots lit up the map, marking major cities and villages.

"Yusuke?"

The dark youth nodded but did not respond in any other way, instead keeping his attention fixed on the globe. He flared his energy and let the focus blur from his eyes. It was not long – but the seconds seemed to stretch on – before he was given the signal he was waiting for. A bright blue dot made itself known apart from the yellow ones, glowing powerfully for the briefest instant before fading away again. Yusuke knew he had been the only one to see it. He quickly jabbed his finger at the globe, exactly where the light had been. "Where's this?"

Cid came closer, himself looking where the tattooed demon pointed. The Al Bhed barked at his son in their native language, and a moment later a quarter of the windshield buzzed statically before depicting a monitor image. A broken and dilapidated building, nearly submerged in the sea and surrounded by floating debris.

"What are we lookin' at?" Cid grunted impatiently.

Yusuke wondered the same thing. "Can we get a closer look?"

Rikku's brother enlarged the image. They waited as the monitor's resolution was digitally enhanced, and then stared at what was revealed.

"A temple," Yuna gasped.

Tidus stepped forward. "That's the lost temple of Baaj…" He turned, fiery blue eyes wide. "Yusuke…?"

"I have to go there." The tattooed demon met Tidus' gaze; "Before we find Sin. There's something I gotta do."

~o~

Cid had been the hardest to persuade. Tidus and his sister agreed immediately, and it didn't take long for their ragtag handful of guardians to follow suit. But his children were aboard the airship, as well as the niece and nephew he had just met, and Cid was nothing if not protective of his family. It was enough that their ultimate goal was the dangerous task of destroying Sin itself. He'd needed convincing that what they were about to do before then would be a necessary detour.

Half a day's flight took them there, and had there been any sunlight to speak about, it was shrouded behind a thick blanket of dark clouds. Yusuke cautiously navigated a small labyrinth of floating debris, his steps closely mirrored by Tidus, who had insisted upon coming along. The dark youth had not been able to argue – he was being called to again, as he had been by Yojimbo, and just as the last time the blond summoner feared Yusuke's sudden disappearance.

Eventually the call pulled at him from straight down, and the tattooed demon peered into the murky water for a long moment before turning to the blond at his side. "I should check that there's nothing in there for you to worry about…"

Tidus nodded. Yusuke felt those fiery blue eyes follow after him as he dove into the water.

He swam down, the waters darkening instantly. They were not as deep as they had seemed, however; he righted himself and touched his feet to the bottom, sand floating loosely about him in a cloud as he disturbed its stillness. He flared his senses wide, immediately recognizing Tidus' aura high above him. But he also sensed fiends crowding the waters from every direction. Yusuke pushed out a pulse of electric energy, letting it surge through the water and kill any threat to Tidus' safety within a fifty-yard radius.

He pushed up from the ground, breaking surface several moments later. Shaking the water from his hair, he looked up and found Tidus still waiting. The blond's eyes were staring with a sharpened attentive light in their blue color. "What was that?"

"Fiends," he said. "Stay up there 'til my attack dies down."

Tidus nodded, settling again atop the piece of debris that held him aloft.

"Hang on another minute. Lemme find a way in, and then I'll come back for you."

~o~

The inside of the temple was expectedly flooded, but they did manage to find a pocket of air just outside its hidden sacred chamber. The door to their goal had been jammed into place; Yusuke gripped it tight, feet digging into the floor as he forced the stone slab to slide upward behind its archway.

They stepped cautiously into the chamber. Tall candelabras covered in dust and cobwebs stood ominously in a half-circle around a glass-covered hole in the ground. Nestled within the hole was a chipped and cracked stone statue of a woman with her back turned, torn and broken angel wings spreading wide from between her shoulder blades.

Yusuke clenched his jaw, hard. Beside him, Tidus sank to his knee and murmured in solemn prayer. The candelabras burst with fire, one after another, until the small chamber was alight in the candles' glow. The glass dome in the floor caught aglow as well, and floating above its center appeared a dark-haired woman, her pale alabaster body wrapped delicately in a white gossamer gown.

The tattooed demon silently fisted a clawed hand at his side as he met her caramel brown gaze. He recognized this woman. Shiva had allowed him a vision of her, in Macalania. More than that… Raizen stirred uneasily at the resemblance to someone he'd known, so many years ago…

Tidus slowly straightened to his feet, staring. "You are Seymour's mother…?"

_So you know,_ the woman's voice echoed in strong regret. _It is all right. He is the one who sowed the seeds of hatred; he is to blame. But I am at fault for letting him become what he was. As a half-breed, he was always alone. I wanted to give him the strength to live by himself. And so I became a Fayth. But… because I let him taste power, he began to thirst for more. He was not satisfied with my aeon._

"Anima," Yusuke spoke up, a low growl rumbling within his chest.

_Yes,_ she sighed. Her caramel eyes turned to him. _I know why you have come, demon. I know what it is you seek. I give it to you, freely. _Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back. The glow from the candles suddenly blazed and flared, until the room was flooded in white._ My heart was not strong enough to tame the power of Anima. Perhaps you will have the answers I knew not._

He grunted as foreign energy punched through his chest like a cannonball. His eyes burned in response, bleeding into the blackened hue of his darker moments; his markings whorled and swirled along his skin. In the back of his mind Raizen roared as his pocketed energy released the dormant power it had captured before, letting it be consumed by this greater force that seared along his veins as though testing its new vessel.

Yusuke snarled, flaring the strength of his own energy, combined with Genkai's spirit orb and the strength he had inherited from his demonic ancestor. As though sensing he would not be overpowered, the new foreign energy reluctantly backed down until it was swimming calmly in his blood, already accepting itself as a part of him and under his control.

Blinking his eyes open, he found Tidus staring at him with stark worry mixed with much awe in that fiery blue gaze. Glancing down at himself, he easily discovered why: His skin had paled to an almost ghostly tone, and his hair had turned white and now fell over his eyes and behind his back. His markings, which had lost their original patterns and had taken instead the more primal likeness of his ancestral father's, now stood out against his skin in a bold blood-red tint. Both his forearms were wrapped with sutra bandaging, layered over with black chains, and a thick metal collar with a broken chain hugged the base of his throat.

His eyes burned familiarly, but his left eye stung far worse than the other. And when he lifted a hand to it, he glimpsed a cold blue glow reflecting off the skin of his palm.

"Yusuke…?"

The newly empowered demon looked up. Tidus stepped closer, but in his eyes he looked suddenly unsure. Swearing, he pulled the blond in his arms and held him tight, burying his face in the cove of Tidus' neck. It seemed all the answer the blond summoner needed. Tidus' arms quickly wrapped around his sides, hands gripping the back of his tunic just as tightly.

~o~

When at last they returned to the airship, their companions could not seem to resist staring as well. Tidus quickly began reassuring everyone that this new pale and wild creature was indeed Yusuke, and that no one was in any danger. While the blond did his best to explain, Yusuke excused himself from the bridge.

Finding an empty cabin, he locked himself in and collapsed to the floor, passing out almost instantly. His energy swam contentedly along his veins, blessed – or, perhaps, cursed – with the untethered power of the _tasuh aeon_.

41) "_Baylro._" Al Bhed translation = "Peachy."


	32. Anima's Fury

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Thirty-Two – Anima's Fury**

_"Anima is the antithesis to all other aeons,"_ Auron's voice echoed in Yusuke's memory as he finally began to stir. _"It possesses only the power of destruction. Tempered against an even stronger will, I have heard it said that such power could be tamed."_

Groaning, he rolled to his back and lifted a hand to his head. His left eye burned coldly behind his eyelid, enough that the nettling sting seemed to pool out from his eye and toward the side of his face like freezing fire.

_"Braska tried to acquire the __**tasuh**__ aeon,"_ Jecht's voice hissed next, a memory caught in a glass bauble. _"He wasn't strong enough."_

_My heart was not strong enough to tame the power of Anima, _the soul of Seymour's mother had lamented._ Perhaps you will have the answers I knew not._

Yusuke cussed under his breath and sat up, slapping his hand over his eye again with another muttered profanity when the movement caused the freezing burn to pulse within his skull.

"Ah, so you are truly awake this time?"

He turned his head, blinking the blur from his eyes before they settled upon the owner of the voice he'd heard. The man was tall, blond, wore simple clothes in greys and yellows – and yet there was something about him that hinted at noble ancestry. He sat across the floor from Yusuke, back resting comfortably against the metallic wall behind him, one leg stretched out before him and the other knee upraised with his arm balanced atop it.

The man was watching Yusuke with an easy smile, seeming not at all unnerved by his new pale appearance or the disconcerting combination of his eyes. Yusuke blinked; "I know you…"

The man's smile widened, and he nodded. "Yes, and I remember you as well. Though you look to have traded your darker countenance for something of the paler variety. I am Rin."

So that was it. The proprietor of the Al Bhed shops and travel outposts they had come across at various moments of their pilgrimage. The man they had met, halfway along the Mi'ihen Highroad. "Yusuke," he slowly answered. "How did you get in here? I remember locking that door."

Rin's eyes crinkled at the corners as his smirk became one of satisfaction. He lifted a hand from his side, revealing a small plastic card. "You happened to have sought sanctuary in my own stockroom, my friend."

_Stockroom?_ He glanced toward another corner of the room, where stood stacks of crates and piles of bagged goods. That would explain why he hadn't collapsed on a bed or cot… Not that he'd had presence enough of mind to even look for one.

Holding back a wince as the power behind his left eye pulsed again within his skull, Yusuke clenched his jaw and pushed to his feet. Rin watched him calmly, never seeming to lose his easy manner as this pale and feral creature moved about. "They are waiting for you in the bridge," the Al Bhed proprietor offered. "For my part, I sharpened your friends' weapons and helped to supply Miss Rikku with materials for her grenades."

Yusuke stared at him for a long moment, eventually recovering enough to mutter, "Thanks."

"Not at all," the man refused in his accented tenor, smiling again. "I am but one more man looking forward to a Spira without fear for the future."

He smirked. "You and me, both."

~o~

Wakka's voice reached his sharp ears before Yusuke entered the bridge, and he found the red-haired ex-blitzer standing before Cid with an uncomfortable expression on his face. "There's something I wanna say before the fight," he began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess… I didn't know anything about the Al Bhed. Didn't know anything – didn't wanna _listen_ to anything." Dropping his hand, he drew himself up straight and looked Cid in the eye. "I'm sorry, ya?"

"Don't let it bother you," the Al Bhed leader gruffly responded. "Heck, I'm guilty of hatin' those damn Yevonites, myself."

Wakka let out a surprised laugh at that.

"There's a lot o' folk in this world," Cid concluded. "Some of 'em good, some of 'em bad. And that's all there is to it." He stuck out his hand, and Wakka shook it gladly.

Tidus' soft chuckle caught Yusuke's attention, and he turned his head to find the blond summoner standing to the side with his beloved sister, both watching their friend with happy smiles. Smirking, Yusuke strode over and wrapped his arms around Tidus' shoulders from behind. The blond tensed a moment, but then smiled again upon discovering the tattooed demon behind him.

Yuna smiled as well, stretching over her brother's shoulder to peck a small kiss upon Yusuke's cheek. "I'm so glad you're awake," she whispered. "We were beginning to worry."

"I'm fine," Yusuke did his best to assure her. "Sportin' a colossal headache, but nothing I can't handle."

Her prettily mismatched gaze grew sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I don't know if our magic can help with that, any longer."

He shook his head, smirking when he realized that his new pigmentation and markings did not unnerve her either, and that she was gazing into his power-stricken eyes without a drop of fear. "I'll get over it."

Tidus relaxed a little more against Yusuke's chest, turning his head just enough that the tawny strands of his hair brushed across the side of the demon's face. Yusuke held him closer, nuzzling behind Tidus' ear and smirking when the blond flushed warmly in response. Yuna giggled and, coming to stand at her cousin's side, Rikku lifted up her hands as though framing a moment in time.

But then Yusuke felt a pulse of endlessly dark energy, moments before the airship shook and was thrown back in midair. Everyone screamed and shouted in alarm, and Rikku's brother gave a panicked cry as he stood from behind his controls and pointed toward the windshield.

A massive creature floated in the sky some distance from the airship, shielded by a tangible bubble of energy. Yusuke, having never seen this dark entity in its entirety, could only surmise from everybody's reaction and the vaguely familiar feel of its energy that this… _this_ was Sin.

They watched as the creature flared its aura again, consequently pushing the airship back a second time, before firing enormous pellets of its energy in eight separate directions. Yusuke clenched his jaw, hard; he stared alongside the others as they watched those pellets cut through air and earth and water in a vicious display of worldly destruction. The ground had caught fire in some places where the energy had passed through; tidal waves came crashing down to fill the emptiness left in the pellets' wake.

Yusuke recognized a challenge when he saw one. And Sin was challenging them all for having destroyed the Final Summoning.

Auron turned to Yuna and her brother. The twin summoners nodded together that they were ready to fight. The red-robed warrior then turned to Cid, who took the hint without needing to hear a word and barked an order at Rikku's brother to bring the airship closer. The Al Bhed pilot seemed to swallow down a fit of nerves before gunning the engines.

They circled Sin, closing in slowly. Sin did not seem to acknowledge their approach, but Yusuke was not naïve enough to believe in any chance of catching it unaware. Once they were within range, Cid shouted another order. Rikku's brother adjusted a handful of switches and levers, before slamming his fist down on a large button. As cleanly as pulling a trigger, two laser beams were fired from unseen cannons and shot through the air to puncture Sin's armor above its shoulder. The moment of contact was an explosive one, and everyone stared as Sin's arm broke away and fell to the ground far below.

Rikku's brother circled the airship around to the creature's other side, readying another charge and firing at his father's command. Though Sin had tried to avoid the hit, the beast's body was too massive to move out of the way in time. Sin lost its other arm. Yusuke's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of something, and he leapt forward. Resting a hand to the back of the Al Bhed pilot's seat, he directed the man's sights to center upon what he'd found. Just over Sin's back, somewhere along what might have been the creature's neck, he had glimpsed an anomaly. His instincts were pushing at him, sensing a chink in Sin's armor.

Rikku's brother aligned his aim and fired once more, and in the distance the explosion was larger than the ones to precede it. Sin fell from the skies. Everyone stared and murmured amongst each other in wonder.

"_E lyhhud pameaja fryd E caa…!_" Rikku's brother exclaimed.**(42)**

"_Pameaja ed, cuh._" Cid laughed,equally in awe. "_Ed ec rybbahehk!_"**(43)**

"It's not over," Yusuke growled.

"What! You're kiddin' me."

He turned his power-stricken gaze upon the Al Bhed leader, leaving the pilot's side as he rejoined his companions. "All we did was crack the armor. We need to get inside that thing and finish it off."

"By destroying Yu Yevon," Tidus added.

Wakka nodded. "The Crusaders would be out of a job if it was this easy, ya?"

"_Vydran_," Rikku's brother spoke up, somewhat urgently. "_Dra syeh kih ec picdat…_"**(44)**

Cid turned to his son, very red in the face. "What do you mean, _busted_?"

~o~

Some minutes later, while the small cluster of Al Bhed engineers debated whether the airship's weapons might have been salvaged, Yusuke glimpsed Tidus wandering off with his sister, and he followed after them.

He caught up to them on the airship's deck. Yuna held her brother's arm as the two gazed over the distance toward the reaching spires of Bevelle, and the glittering atmosphere of the neighboring Macalania Woods. Yusuke considered remaining in the background, guarding them unobtrusively while giving them a moment to themselves, but Tidus turned and beckoned him over.

"I wonder if our uncle is in pain," Yuna whispered as the tattooed youth drew closer.

"I worry how much of Jecht is still conscious after all this time," Tidus responded as softly. "What weighs heaviest on my mind, though, is that the Fayth made us swear to rely on their aeons to help us…"

Yusuke clenched his jaw.

"Sin is reborn when Yu Yevon merges with an aeon," Yuna murmured, seeming to think aloud. "If we summon an aeon, Yu Yevon will join with it, but… it will be small, at first…"

"Yes," her blond twin nodded. "And will jump again if we strike it down. But Yu Yevon will be limited by the number of aeons we bring before it. And if they are suddenly to disappear–"

Yuna gasped, hugging her brother's arm and hiding her face against his shoulder. "I never thought it would come to this…"

"Neither did I." Tidus held his beloved sister close, the full realization of their goal settling heavily over them like a veil of mournful inevitability. Then the blond happened to glance up, fiery blue eyes seeking out another. "Yusuke?"

The empowered demon shifted his stance, keeping his tightly fisted hand out of view behind his thigh.

_*Guys,*_ Rikku's voice interrupted, drawing upon their attention from the airship's speakers. _*Come back inside. There's something going on with Sin!*_

They looked. The ground shook noisily, sounds of rock grinding against rock as clouds of dust and debris filled the air. Sin stirred again, lifting only its head for several moments before revealing iridescent gossamer wings which seemed out of place on the back of such a destructive entity. It pulled itself up into the sky as though weighing nothing at all, and drifted in the air until perching itself perfectly balanced atop the tallest spire of the palace of Bevelle.

And then sat there. Motionless.

Waiting.

"Tidus," Yusuke spoke. "Take Yuna inside. Tell Cid to be ready."

"Yusuke?"

The newest incarnation of the _tasuh aeon_ turned away and stepped toward the nose of the airship. He drew upon his energy until it raced along his veins and simmered eagerly beneath his skin. "I'm gonna break us in."

The two seemed to hesitate a moment longer, but then the doors slid open, followed by Yuna's voice wishing him luck just as the doors closed once more behind them.

Alone, the tattooed youth hissed a profanity under his breath. He lifted his hand, glaring a moment at his bloodied fist before releasing his claws from his palm and allowing it at last to heal. He turned his hand over, glancing at the band of silver encircling his third finger. Swearing again, he tugged at the ring until he had caught it in his other hand. Yusuke pushed and prodded at Raizen's energy, finally centering it within his demonic core. Taking one last look at the ring, he pushed open the folds of his tunic and pulled the collar of his shirt down; he fisted the ring in a bauble of his energy and pressed it to his chest. Raizen's ancient and primal energy grabbed at the trinket and pulled it in, pocketing the ring within his very core.

A great and terrible ache fisted itself around the center of his chest, the sensation seeming to squeeze the breath from him from within. He sucked in a few quick hisses of air, bracing his hands atop his knees, spitting a string of profanities through clenched teeth. Soon the ache began to settle and, though it never quite released him, he found he could breathe again. Straightening, he readjusted his shirt and tunic and set his sights upon his promised target.

Flaring Anima's unbridled power, Yusuke challenged Sin. The massive beast responded, lifting away from the spires of Bevelle and approaching the airship in the open skies. Suddenly the airship jerked under Yusuke's feet, and the feral demon regained his balance with a muttered curse as he realized Sin's fluctuating aura was pulling them in. Sin pried open its enormous mouth; Yusuke narrowed his eyes, spying the beginning of an explosive attack of energy crackling within those slack jaws.

Yusuke glared, and the throbbing in his skull blossomed into a pulse of freezing fire behind his left eye. He saw red for an instant, then black, and then felt a pain almost as though his eye had ripped itself from its socket. Swearing, he slapped a hand over it and turned away.

Feeling the airship gather speed under his feet and jerk forward, he lifted his head enough to glimpse a swirl of black light and white shadow fighting over space inside Sin's stretched-open mouth. Yusuke touched upon it with his awareness, discovering it to be a dimensional hole.

That was fine by him. He had slipped between dimensions often enough, when visiting the human world or returning to his home in the makai. _Better than being swallowed alive, at least._**(45)**

They passed through an endless abyss filled with a spectrum of colors and a generous dusting of glittering stars. Pyreflies greeted the airship's entry happily, flying at them at such speeds that the will-o'-the-wisps seemed almost to sing as they passed by. A deceptively peaceful-looking tunnel – to the human eye. But Yusuke narrowed his gaze, carefully watching streams of black energy dart toward them from every direction, sidestepping one or two as they drew too close.

And then something happened that he hadn't seen coming – though he couldn't really claim to be surprised. Though the dimensional energies did not shift, and though he felt no warning, suddenly he was confronted with a vision of Seymour Guado. The crazed murderer's face filled the space before them, eyes burning like hellfire as the airship flew through it, dark laughter chasing after them as they continued on.

At last the tunnel faded, and they found themselves on the other side. The airship settled carefully upon the ground, which rippled and reflected unseen flashes of light as though shallowly flooded with water. The skies – and Yusuke used the term loosely – were overcast with a thick layer of grey clouds. All the color had faded away, and there was neither sun nor moon to guide them. Even the twinkling stars had blinked out. And though the very air reeked of some twisted version of the Farplane atmosphere, no pyreflies floated about in welcome.

Yusuke rubbed at his chest, reassured when his core ached in answer. Finally bringing his other hand from his eye, he discovered a trace of blood clinging to his palm and rubbed at his face to remove the evidence. Yusuke Urameshi possessed enough awareness of self to confess that Anima's attack had tested him severely. He didn't know what he had done to be trusted with the favor of the Fayth. And he probably didn't want to know.

But he wasn't about to complain when he suspected it was their favor that seemed to continue to shield him from Anima's fury.

42) "_E lyhhud pameaja fryd E caa…!_" Al Bhed translation = "I cannot believe what I see…!"

43) "_Pameaja ed, cuh. Ed ec rybbahehk!_" Al Bhed translation = "Believe it, son. It is happening!"

44) "_Dra syeh kih ec picdat…_" Al Bhed translation = "The main gun is busted…"

45) Ah, memories.


	33. Calling Him Home

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Chapter Thirty-Three – Calling Him Home…**

He heard the airship open its cargo doors, and he glanced down to see his companions gathering and making ready. He leapt down. Rikku immediately raced forth and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Blinking in surprise, he hugged her back. "Did I miss something…?"

She giggled, letting him go. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Smirking, he flicked one of her braids over her shoulder. "Aw, you were worried!"

"Was not," she protested, swatting his hand away. "Anyway, Wakka was the one who panicked when Yunie told us you were about to go one-on-one with Sin."

"Hey!" The red-head objected half-heartedly, his tone belied by a slight grin of his own.

"Come," Auron gruffly spoke up. He hefted his claymore upon his shoulder; "Our task is nearly done, but we still have some distance before we get to the finale."

This final leg of their journey was unprecedented. There were no records anywhere of what lay in wait for them – for who else would have dared crossing into the protected unknown within Sin's armor? The path ahead was shrouded in mystery.

The water that shallowly flooded the ground rippled with quiet whispering splashes as their steps disturbed its surface. The eight companions proceeded with extreme caution, weapons drawn and ready. The path before them was not idle. It explored the darkness, daringly, with false trails which did their very best to lead their entourage toward dead-ends or deep inescapable pools. Sinspawn would often emerge from the shadows, slowing them down. Yuna and Tidus were shielded fiercely by their small army of guardians, and Auron insisted upon resting after each encounter.

At last, the shadows seemed to relent. Little by little, as though with great reluctance, they began to pull away. A small city awaited them. Those of its buildings that were not broken or crumbled beyond debris appeared wrought of metal – a machina city. A labyrinth, another test before they could reach their goal.

An all-too-familiar ominous aura swept against Yusuke's senses, and he clenched his jaw, a low growl building in his throat.

"What is it?" Auron asked.

He fisted his hands, tossing the red-robed warrior a glance. "I'm takin' point."

"Yusuke?" Tidus ventured, eyes cautious but trusting as he shifted his jagged black sword in his grip. Beside her blond twin, Yuna cradled her faerie-eyed staff a little closer to her chest.

The tattooed demon offered a hard smirk, one that did not reach his power-stricken eyes. "You won't believe who's waitin' for us."

~o~

A single flight of stairs provided their entrance into the city, but Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the creature which blocked their path.

Seymour Guado chuckled softly, a calm, relaxed sort of laugh which belied his damaged appearance. His robes were torn and frayed, and layered thickly with pale dirt. Splotches of silver dusted his skin in places, clumping together where it mixed with the blood of numerous cuts and scrapes. His ice-blue eyes were crazed and unfocused.

There was very little left of the man he had been. Seymour had finally descended into his madness. He was a fiend.

"Sin has chosen me," he shared with them in a gleeful whisper. "I am part of Sin. I am one with Sin, forever. Immortal!" He laughed.

Yusuke growled, baring his fangs.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," the Guado pouted. "I will learn to control Sin, from within. I have _all_ the time in the world. Since you were gracious enough to dispose of Yunalesca," he chuckled, "the only means of destroying Sin is forever gone. Nothing can stop us!"

Yusuke crouched for an attack, but then Tidus stepped forward. His jagged sword was held loosely at his side, but his stance was tense. Yuna did not hesitate in moving to stand at her brother's side. When Tidus lifted his free hand before him, she mirrored him with her own. What once took some concentration in Luca now seemed to come naturally as glowing orbs of light ignited from their palms, growing larger and brighter.

Seymour did not wait for their spells to be completed, suddenly throwing his own magic at their group as a whole. Yusuke and Auron pressed in closer to either side of their summoners, while the others spread out and countered the Guado's assault. Seymour was surrounded, and outnumbered, but as before he seemed confident in the inevitability of his own victory. He laughed at them – a crazed sort of sound, much unlike the controlled timbre of his usual chuckle. His attacks were wild and uncoordinated, magic flinging at them from every direction but too often missing their mark.

Tidus and Yuna set loose their own spells, which multiplied into two rings of white spheres which rolled and spun around Seymour before themselves exploding into beams of pure magic, striking at him repeatedly in the chest. He stumbled back, and his magic wavered. Wakka's ball and Kimahri's spear were no longer so easily deflected; Lulu's magic and Rikku's grenades exploded more violently upon contact.

When at last the smoke cleared, Seymour had been thrown to the ground on his back. Kimahri was crouched over him, his spear plunged into the Guado's chest and pinning him down. Tidus grabbed his sister's hand, and the two of them murmured together in prayer, their auras racing along their bodies in preparation.

"So," Seymour rasped, coughing wetly. Kimahri's spear had pierced his lung, and it was apparent that even the undead needed one or two of those to breathe. "It is you, after all, who will Send me…?"

They completed their prayer with a very decisive air, and Seymour arched his back with a sharp grunt before sinking down again with a final breath. His form wavered and rippled, then vanished, pyreflies bursting free at last to flitter and roll about on their way to the Farplane.

~o~

They entered the broken machina city. Its streets were many, seeming to multiply at every corner, but were hauntingly empty. Yet they were forced to continue cautiously, as the tall buildings around them seemed to crumble and break apart at even the slightest noise.

It was difficult anymore to determine whether they were still wandering in the right direction, or whether they were simply losing themselves deeper amongst the ruins. Yusuke had flung his senses wide, but the air was too thick with energy for him to filter through. But then they turned yet another corner and, as though the world itself blinked the blur from its vision, suddenly there stood a tower taller that rest of the city ruins.

Yusuke swore under his breath, and Auron pointed the others in that direction. As they ventured closer, the roads seemed to open up; the buildings seemed to push aside to make room for their trespass. The shadows returned, sweeping through the city and spreading like fog.

The tower appeared larger than life as they approached, a spire of twisted metal marked generously with glowing runes. They paused before it, and though Kimahri and Wakka circled around the thing, they could find no entrance. Yusuke considered firing his spirit gun to make one of their own, but before the thought could formulate into an actual plan of action, the energies in the air suddenly shifted. Darkness flooded their eyes for an instant… and when they could see again, the eight companions found themselves gathered in a corner of a large stage, far above the broken city.

And they were not alone.

~o~

A man stood alone in the center of the stage, his back turned. Clad in tattered desert clothes, this darkly tanned man held at his side a broadsword of corroded steel and seemed unaware of their arrival – until he spoke.

"_Oui yra myda, Auron_," he whispered, the deep timbre of his voice cracking as though having suffered years of silence.**(46)**

The red-robed warrior sighed, lowering his claymore from his shoulder to rest it by his side as he gruffly responded, "…I know."

A small rumbling chuckle shook the man's shoulders, and after another moment he turned around. The sparse light played across the countless scars marking his arms and torso; his russet hair spilled over his shoulders and across his eyes. Tidus stared, and beside him his beloved twin clung to his arm. Yusuke had never met the man, but recognized that voice.

This was the uncle that had gone missing for the past ten years. The guardian who had sacrificed himself at Braska's side to grant the Calm upon their world.

The man who had become Sin.

Jecht.

His gaze lingered on Auron a moment longer, and then he looked over their group as a whole. Whatever he thought of them – whether he was surprised that they were so many, or whether he doubted in their combined strengths – he kept to himself. Finally, he let his gaze settle upon the twin summoners, and some flicker of emotion flitted across his face. "_Habraf_…"

"_Ihlma_," Tidus responded as softly.

"Yuna… You look so much like your mother…"

She smiled, though tears hovered in her eyes and seemed to catch in her throat. "Hello, Uncle."

He chuckled again, but it was a hollow laugh. His aura, powerful as it was, bled of the pains of guilt and regret. "_Ev Braska luimt caa ic, huf_," he muttered.**(47)** Shaking his head, Jecht spun his broadsword on its tip. "I know what you have to do, _habraf_. And I wanted it to be you, but now that you're here…"

"I'll do it," Yusuke growled, stepping forward.

Tidus quickly grabbed his wrist; "Wait!"

He glanced back, offering a small smirk. "He's your uncle. Your family. He doesn't wanna strap you down with that kind of guilt."

"But what about…?"

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "He traded in his humanity a long time ago."

"Let him," Jecht spoke up. His relaxed stance had shifted; he stood poised and ready. His broadsword was gripped a little closer to his side.

With every reluctance, Tidus released his grip. Yusuke smirked again, though he knew the blond understood he wasn't taking this new task lightly. Turning back, he crossed the stage until he stood some paces before the man. "I won't hold back, you know."

"I don't expect you to," Jecht shook his head, turning slowly in one spot as the tattooed youth began to circle him. "I know who you are, _tasuh_. I am not so lost yet that I could miss what the Fayth have been up to."

"So you knew I was coming."

"And I know why you try so hard to protect my nephew," the man added, lowering his voice so that his words would not pass beyond the two of them.

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, crouching low. Jecht gave a nod of his head and hefted his broadsword. He gave no warning, racing forth in an attack. Yusuke swore under his breath as he leapt out of range. Flipping in the air, he glimpsed Jecht leaping up after him and swiftly rolled his body out of reach of that swinging blade. They came down again, and Yusuke took the offensive this time. Flexing his claws, he rushed the Al Bhed swordsman.

Though his broadsword was large and obviously heavy, Jecht swung it about with ease as he deflected Yusuke's attacks. The tattooed youth felt the mix of his and Anima's energy play beneath his skin, feeding him enough speed that his movements became a blur. He could sense the power fluctuating beneath Jecht's attacks as well, and he had the briefest, vaguest flicker of a thought that they were really no more than one aeon pitched against another.

Yusuke swore again, ducking low as that thick blade made an attempt to knock of his head. Thus far, Jecht had anticipated his movements well enough, but all too often while swinging that sword he would leave his back vulnerable. Yusuke had seen this quickly enough, but he could not time the Al Bhed's recovery, as it never happened the same way twice. Jecht's style of fighting was wild and erratic, and did a fine job of keeping Yusuke on his toes.

Yet the tattooed demon did not give up searching for an opening – and eventually he found it. With a scalding growl, he blurred out of sight. Reappearing behind Jecht, he stabbed the claws of his hand into the small of the man's back. The Al Bhed shouted in pain, but could not shake him off. Clenching his jaw, Yusuke threw his other hand over Jecht's shoulder and dug his claws into the man's chest directly over the heart. In much the same way he had done to destroy Yunalesca in Zanarkand, he pushed Raizen's darker energy outward and let it pass into his victim.

Jecht threw his head back and screamed, his aura flaring as the power he had once sacrificed himself to be granted now struggled to throw off a creature unlike any it had ever encountered. Raizen's energy, as though starving for a good meal, consumed and ate away at that power until there was nothing left.

The broadsword clattered as it slipped from a suddenly lax grip. Yusuke, feeling the body in his arms go limp, withdrew his energy and backed away. Jecht stumbled, his legs seeming unable to hold him up much longer. Approaching footsteps raced toward them, and the Al Bhed swordsman was caught against a strong chest.

Auron's good eye stared down at the other man as he carefully lowered Jecht to his back on the floor. The scarred man coughed and seemed to fight to catch his breath, but he gripped Auron's shoulder strongly. He gave a weak smirk. "_F-famlusa pylg…_"**(48)**

The red-robed warrior shook his head with a gruff, hollow chuckle. "_E hajan mavd._"**(49)**

Jecht's smirk grew for an instant. His bronze-green eyes, swirled like Rikku's, seemed to absorb of the sight of the man leaning over him. But then his hand lost its grip and slipped from Auron's arm, and his head dropped back. His body shimmered, his form wavered – and then there were pyreflies, multi-colored will-o'-the-wisps that flew off as Jecht vanished without a fight. Auron remained crouched on his knee for another moment or two, his hand lightly gripping his other shoulder where Jecht's hand last held him. Then the red-robed warrior lowered his head with a heavy sigh, and he too faded away, following his friend at last.

~o~

Yusuke swore, spinning on his heel and glancing around. His sharp eyes quickly found the source of the distortion he had sensed, a purple-black gelatin-looking entity soaring about over their heads. They had pierced Sin's armor; they had conquered its hidden world. Jecht had given himself up as well. There was nothing left, nothing to stand in their way now.

Yu Yevon was running out of places to hide.

And then Yusuke felt another ripple in the energies of the air, and the Bevelle Fayth appeared before them. But this time, the shadows had fled from the child spirit; his hood had been thrown back, revealing wild white hair like dandelion fluff, and gleaming silver eyes.

_Remember your promise!_ The boy urgently cried to the twin summoners. _End his summoning!_

With aggrieved determination as the Fayth disappeared again, Yuna and her brother stood apart from the others and began.

First came Valefor. The great bird answered their call immediately. Yuna touched its brow one last time, and Tidus gave a final bow to their very first aeon. Yusuke had moved away from the rest of their companions as well, and when Yu Yevon approached Valefor, the tattooed youth was ready. He let loose Anima's power, fiery cold pain exploding behind his left eye, and as suddenly as that Valefor was gone.

The others turned to him in surprise, and Tidus' gaze narrowed with a flicker of concern. Biting off a low profanity, Yusuke swiped at the blood cascading down the side of his face. "Keep going!"

And so it was that each of their aeons was summoned forth to bait Yu Yevon, and then were destroyed one after another before the wandering consciousness could possess them for its own. It was a terrible, grueling task, one that squeezed lungs and tugged at heartstrings. Wakka had pulled Lulu to him halfway through, and Yuna's prettily mismatched eyes were not the only pair to brim with tears.

After all was said and done, Yu Yevon still floated about, colors shifting agitatedly. The others murmured in cautious exultation, knowing their task nearly complete. Soon, the summoning would be broken, and Sin would be forever destroyed. But Yusuke, feeling a final faint tug at the back of his mind, rubbed absently at the growing ache in the center of his chest. The favor he had been granted, the power he had been given – they had only been borrowed.

He ignited Anima's fury once more, his aura exploding as the energy raced to new heights. The stage shook, the air around him trembled violently. Yu Yevon shifted course and began to drop from the air. His companions all cried out to him in surprise and alarm; Tidus' voice, especially, pierced his sharp hearing and echoed against the ache in his demonic core when the blond summoner realized what he was about to do.

He clenched his jaw, flaring his aura even more. Yu Yevon, seeming finally unable to resist, dove down at last and invaded Yusuke like a punch to the stomach. The force of Yu Yevon's eagerness caused the tattooed demon to stagger back a few steps before he could recover himself.

"Yusuke!"

With a sharp growl he dug his heel to the ground, borrowing Raizen's pocketed energy to hunt down and trap the foreign anomaly trying to poison his veins. Yu Yevon struggled, fiercely striking and tearing at Yusuke's insides in an attempt to destroy him from within.

Anima's power was burned away instantly. Raizen's energy clung tightly, flaring and burning away at the invader in its grasp. And then suddenly Genkai's spirit orb began to fight back as well, protecting the vessel it had been granted to enliven and empower in exchange for its own continued growth. The combined power proved to be too much for Yu Yevon, which echoed against the walls of Yusuke's mind with its voiceless screaming as his mixed energies tore and peeled away at it until there was nothing left.

Feeling suddenly drained and exhausted, he reeled and felt himself begin to drift in and out of consciousness. There was the abrupt sensation of weightlessness, as though he was not entirely where he should be, and somewhere in the back of his mind Yusuke understood that the Fayth's hold on him was weakening.

"_Yusuke!_" Tidus' voice reached his ears, seconds before he glimpsed the blond summoner racing toward him.

Tidus caught his wrist in a tight grip before he could stumble, and their gazes locked together. The tattooed demon's sight had begun to blur, but even then he could read the look in those fiery blue eyes. All the feelings Yusuke had known to be there were swimming on the surface of those orbs, mixed with fearful realization and hopeless resignation. Swearing, Yusuke pushed his exhausted energy into his legs and stepped closer. He lifted his free hand, ignoring the increasing sensation of feeling detached from his own body, and smoothed clawed fingers down the side of Tidus' cheek.

The blond tilted his head trustingly into the touch, his eyes burning hotly. But then he started violently, glancing down the same instant Yusuke could no longer feel Tidus' hand around his wrist. The tattooed youth looked down too, in time to watch those fingers pass through his wrist and close together around empty air. They looked up again; Tidus murmured Yusuke's name and quickly pressed a hard kiss against the demon's lips while they both could still feel it.

His demonic core pulsing achingly, Yusuke kissed back as fiercely as he could before the feeling of nothingness consumed him, and he drew away with a muttered profanity.

As though echoing from a far distance, familiar voices whispered within the back of his mind. Yusuke took one last lingering look at the blond summoner standing before him, before closing his eyes and finally giving in to the pleas calling him home…

46) "_Oui yna myda, Auron._" Al Bhed translation = "You are late, Auron."

47) "_Ev Braska luimt caa ic, huf…_" Al Bhed translation = "If Braska could see us, now…"

48) "_Famlusa pylg._" Al Bhed translation = "Welcome back."

49) "_E hajan mavd._" Al Bhed translation = "I never left."


	34. Epilogue

**Title:** Broken, Beaten, and Damned

**By:** Aina Song

**Fandom(s):** Final Fantasy X/ Yu Yu Hakusho

**Genre:** Yaoi

**Rating:** PG-15

**Warning(s):** Crossover; Slightly AU; Language; Some OOC; Direct Quotes; Altered Quotes; Altered Scenes (and other such subtle storyline changes). _Italics_ = thought bubbles, Fayth speech and/or telepathy, and Al Bhed.

**Pairing(s):** Yusuke x Tidus

**Reviews:** Yes, please! Reviews are a writer's bread and butter!

**Author's Note:** Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Would you believe someone _dared_ me to do this one?

**Teaser:** Yusuke finds himself in Spira, locked in partial-demon form, and increasingly obsessed with the fate of a certain summoner and her blond twin. Especially the twin. Mostly the twin.

**Epilogue**

_~Hello, hello~_

_~Anybody out there~_

_~Cause I don't hear a sound~_

_~Alone, alone~_

_~I don't really know where the world is~_

_~But I miss it now~_

_~I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name~_

_~Like a fool at the top of my lungs~_

_~Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend~_

_~I'm all right but it's never enough~_

_~Cause my echo, echo~_

_~Is the only voice coming back~_

_~Shadow, shadow~_

_~Is the only friend that I have~_

Kurama firmly gripped Yusuke by the shoulders, steadfastly holding him down. The tattooed demon snarled and cussed quite impressively as he writhed and tossed under the silver youko's unyielding grasp. Straddling his stomach, one stoic and cutthroat fire demon had his own hands busy, Jagan eye open and aware.

"Lay still, Yusuke," Kurama coaxed urgently into his ear. "You're distracting him."

But the dark youth only dug his claws into his fists and growled through clenched teeth, "Come _on_, Hiei!"

The fire demon's dark aura shifted about with an unsteady flicker. His hands, coated over with a thick film of his energy up to his forearms, felt and pressed against Yusuke's chest. Very carefully, he coaxed and cajoled with Yusuke's demonic core, which pulsed and throbbed with a terrible ache the tattooed youth could feel flooding every fiber of his being. His core fought against Hiei's temptation, clinging fast to its hidden refuge behind Yusuke's lungs.

~_Listen, listen~_

_~I will take a whisper~_

_~If that's all you had to give~_

_~But it isn't, isn't~_

_~You could come and save me~_

_~And try to chase the crazy right out of my head~_

_~I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name~_

_~Like a fool at the top of my lungs~_

_~Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend~_

_~I'm all right but it's never enough~_

_~Cause my echo, echo~_

_~Is the only voice coming back~_

_~Shadow, shadow~_

_~Is the only friend that I have~_

Hiei glared down at his goal, third eye blazing furiously for several moments, before he suddenly thrust his hand into Yusuke's chest. The younger demon lurched up with a roar of pain, but Kurama quickly shoved him down again and held tight. Hiei, too, held his free hand to Yusuke's shoulder, bracing the tattooed youth as he rifled about with his other hand.

Yusuke grunted, chest lurching up despite their hold on him, as his core finally released its secret. Hiei drew his hand away, his fingers curling in a careful loose fist around a bauble of Yusuke's energy. The fire demon's Jagan eye relaxed its focus, dimming as his aura began to settle.

Kurama lifted his hands away, allowing Yusuke to sit up as Hiei moved off of him and passed the energy bauble to its owner. The dark youth stared down at it, chest heaving, eyes fierce. Crushing the bauble, he closed his fist around a treasured silver ring.

"Yusuke," Kurama murmured, something akin to wonder in his soft tenor.

He looked up, and his throat grew tight around his next breath.

~_I don't wanna be without it~_

_~I just wanna feel alive~_

_~And get to see your face again~_

_~I don't wanna be without it~_

_~I just wanna feel alive~_

_~And get to see your face again~_

_~Once again~_

_~Just my echo~_

_~Shadow~_

_~You're my only friend~_

_~And I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name~_

_~Like a fool at the top of my lungs~_

_~Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend~_

_~I'm all right but it's never enough~_

In a darkened corner across the room, where the shadows stood thickest, the flickering silhouette of the Fayth of Bevelle returned his stare with steady gleaming silver eyes. In the next instant, the child spirit had fled without a word, but not without leaving something behind. Yusuke shot to his feet and blurred across the room, catching a strong youthful body against his chest before it could collapse to the floor. His core swelled, and in the back of his mind Raizen's pocketed darker energy whooped and hollered in triumph as it sensed a newly birthed demonic aura from the body in his arms.

_~Cause my echo, echo~_

_~My shadow, shadow~_

Eyes blinked open, flashing brightly for an instant before settling into their perfect fiery blue hue, and a bronzed hand reached up to carefully touch the side of his face. "Y-Yusuke…?"

He smirked, swallowing down his own disbelief. "Welcome to the makai."

_~Hello, hello~_

_~Anybody out there~_

**END**

**A/N:** "Echo," by Jason Walker.


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